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  • Aging, what a frightening business that is. No one likes to think about that.

  • Can we do something about it? Well science is saying yeah, maybe.

  • Some fascinating experiments done with mice...as we get older our cells age and some of them

  • become what are known as senescent cells. They no longer divide but they do

  • release compounds that are inflammatory and that can damage tissues.

  • Well, in a very interesting experiment scientists injected young mice with senescent cells

  • and they got old. They became slower, they reacted more slowly

  • to everything and then they injected them with drugs, one of them derived from

  • apple peels, the other one a pharmaceutical substance, and it turned out that after

  • injecting it those mice regained their youthful appearance.

  • Now granted this is only with mice and as we say mice are not men or women,

  • Is there anything that we can do that is more applicable to us?

  • Well, maybe there is. It's a calorie-restricted diet.

  • Science has shown over and over again from rodents to dogs to monkeys

  • that if they are put on a calorie restricted diet they age more slowly.

  • What does that mean, a calorie restricted diet?

  • Well, may not be very appealing because it means eating less than the 2,000 calories

  • we normally a day. Of course, it doesn't mean that you just eat fewer potato chips or hot dogs.

  • It has to be a balanced diet and it's possible to do that.

  • Now I wish that we had long-term experiments with humans. We don't have that.

  • But it is an interesting possibility that just cutting down on food is going to increase our longevity.

  • It's not a good idea to be hungry all the time and if it's gonna make you live

  • longer question comes up is it worthwhile living longer if you're going

  • to miss some of the good things in life?

  • We're going to take a scientific look at that this week.

  • Our annual Trottier Public Science Symposium is entitled Longing for Longevity

  • and we have some great speakers: Dr. David Sinclair from Harvard

  • is going to address whether or not there are any supplements we can take to reduce

  • the aging process. Kelly Dobos will look at cosmetics, what can we put on our

  • skin to perhaps retard aging? And we will also have the legendary Dr. Ruth discuss

  • whether or not there is sex after 50. You are all invited. It takes place on Tuesday

  • and Wednesday at 7 o'clock at the Centre Mont Royal, corner of Sherbrooke and Mansfield.

  • It's absolutely free. Everyone is invited. We're gonna have a great time.

  • And in the meantime I will try to cut back on the calories in my diet.

Aging, what a frightening business that is. No one likes to think about that.

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