#13 Dr. David Gems | Hyperfunction & Programmatic Theory of Aging and Critique of the Hallmarks of Aging

My guest today is Dr. David Gems who runs the C. Elegans Aging lab at the University College London. We had a fascinating discussion talking about emerging paradigms in the theories of aging. We discussed the hyperfunction theory or the programmatic theory of aging which gives a better integrated understanding of the different theories of aging that have been presented such as damage accumulation, evolutionary, antagonistic pleiotropy. It has been assumed that molecular damage is always the cause of aging, but the programmatic theory of aging shows that that might not be the case. We also discussed his critique of the hallmarks of aging and how there should be a better paradigm for the aging field. Lastly, we also discussed how research from his lab on C. Elegans might explain some of the conflict around whether sirtuins affect lifespan and how C. Elegans also show versions of this programmatic theory of aging, which can give us a better understanding of how to study aging.

Note: There is a point in the conversation (40:41) where David pulls up some slides to better explain the Multifactorial Model of Aging. So if you are listening to the audio version, you might want to refer to YouTube or the show notes.

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DR. DAVID GEMS LINKS: 

Lab Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucbtdag/DGHistory.html 

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TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00 Live Longer World 

00:25 David Gems Intro 

1:47 History of the theories of aging 

12:23 Hyperfunction / Programmatic Theory of Aging 

24:57 Programmatic Theory of Aging in C. Elegans 

36:59 Hyperfunction theory of Aging in Humans 

40:41 Multifactorial Model of Aging 50:32 Mutation in C. Elegans affecting Sirtuin research? 

59:57 Sirtuin research in humans & conflicting sirtuin research 

1:04:44 Metformin affects the gut microbiome 

1:07:41 Critique of the Hallmarks of Aging 

1:16:12 Disruption in Early Life could lead to Aging related diseases 

1:24:23 Support, share, and follow Live Longer World

To find links to David Gems research discussed, please refer to the show notes: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/dgems 

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Stay in good health - Aastha.