Why We Age

While others struggle to combat the aging process, Dr. Leonard Guarente, director of MIT’s Institute on Aging, seeks to understand it. A forty-year veteran of the university, he is best-known for discovering the gene that governs aging through his painstaking studies on yeast.

While his research suggests that eating fewer calories can extend human life, he also notes that general discontent that accompanies a restrictive diet may very well do more harm than good.  Guarente believes that innovations in his field could soon extend life by up to 50 years, and he also offers tips on how to live longer now.