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• According to the learning outcomes, what should you be able to explain by the end of this session?

  The meaning of healthy ageing
• What should you be able to outline by the end of this session?

  The aim of research into healthy ageing
• What should you be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of?

  The mechanism behind interventions altering lifespan
• What mechanism are you expected to understand behind some interventions?

  The ones known to alter healthspan
• What role should you be able to recognise of animal models?

  Advancing our understanding of ageing
• What will understanding the ageing process enable us to do?

  Promote healthy ageing
• According to Hum Mol Genet. 2013, 22(R1):R7-R15 and Ageing. 2014, 6:718-730, what is a key aim of ageing research?

  Molecular changes at a cellular level
• According to Hum Mol Genet. 2013, 22(R1):R7-R15 and Ageing. 2014, 6:718-730, what is a key aim of ageing research?

  Physiological changes associated with ageing
• What is the difference between biological age and chronological age?

  Biological age can differ from chronological age
• What are the 5 types of ageing discussed?

  Biological, chronological, premature, normal and healthy
• What can an increase in deregulation of the epigenome lead to?

  High disease risk
• What is correlated with low disease risk as we age?

  Ageing at a slower rate
• What influences the rate at which ageing occurs?

  Environmental and genetic factors
• What makes measuring the rate of ageing difficult?

  It is extremely challenging
• What is the epigenetic clock?

  An accurate approach for measuring biological age
• What kind of ageing can be measured with the epigenetic clock?

  Biological ageing
• What area of ageing can also be measured?

  Mental ageing
• According to the text, what is healthy ageing defined as?

  Optimal physical, mental, social well-being in older adults
• What is healthy ageing also defined by?

  Maintenance of function in older adults
• What kind of factors are considered as interventions?

  Genetic factors
• What kind of factors, including diet, are considered as interventions?

  Environmental factors
• What are pharmaceuticals and chemicals considered as in the context of this text?

  Interventions
• What kind of pharmaceuticals and chemicals are considered as interventions?

  Natural or man-made
• What do model organisms allow us to investigate?

  Ageing processes
• What can be gained from studying evolutionary conservations in laboratory model organisms?

  Insights into human ageing
• What are the trade-offs between different model organisms for studying ageing, considering complexity, ethics, and applicability?

  • Cell lines (In vitro models): simple, but limited applicability.
  • Humans: most relevant, but ethical and practical limitations.
  • Other Model Organisms: vary in complexity, lifespan, ethical concerns, and genetic heterogeneity.
• Which of the following is a long lived model for ageing research?

  Freshwater Cnidarian Hydra
• What is the purpose of survival analysis?

  Estimate lifespan of a population
• What duration does survival analysis estimate?

  Birth and death events duration
• What can a mutation in a single gene subsequently increase?

  Longevity
• Mutants in what genes can increase longevity?

  Genes encoding an insulin signalling pathway
• What does the daf-2 gene encode for?

  Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor in worms
• Who discovered the role of the daf-2 gene in regulating longevity?

  Prof David Gems, UCL
• In what organism was the role of daf-2 gene first discovered?

  C.elegans
• What cellular process is promoted with lifespan extension in C.elegans?

  Stress resistance
• What cellular process is reduced with lifespan extension in C.elegans?

  Protein synthesis
• What factors are involved in the evolutionary conserved pathways of longevity?

  • Inflammation signals and senescent phenotype
  • Autophagy
  • Transcription factor that controls longevity genes
• What does the chico gene encode?

  An insulin receptor substrate
• What organism is affected by the chico gene?

  Drosophila melanogaster
• How much does chico extend fruit fly median lifespan in homozygotes?

  Up to 48%