Healthy Aging: Putting the life in the years

We are living in a rapidly aging population, but can we harness regenerative capacity to achieve immortality? This talk highlights Prof Aziz Aboobaker’s use of the planarian flatworm to study the mechanisms of tissue regeneration along with the power and promise of stem cells. We know that some flatworms are immortal and don’t age, so what has happened during evolution to allow them to do this? The fact these animals can regenerate all their body parts is only part of the story. But if we can understand how some animals avoid ageing, what will that means for us?

Controlling your blood sugar is one of the keys to a long, healthy life. Dr Kieran Smith will talk about the key roles of exercise, physical activity, and insulin in controlling blood sugar levels. What happens when the body struggles to regulate blood sugar? For example, in type 1 and type 2 diabetes? What are the consequences, and what can we do about it?