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There are some organisms that live for a very short time, and some that are essentially immortal. Why is this? Ageing is the result of the interaction of many complex systems and we still do not know many of the answers. Humans live a relatively long time, yet some can be born with diseases (such as progeria) that cause them to age much more quickly, and some humans live far longer than average. We can use both of these groups, and other organisms with unusual rates of ageing to correlate the genetic background with the type of ageing. If we know the reasons why some organisms live longer, and more importantly, stay more healthy in old age, we can use that information to help human live more healthy for longer.

I need to feed and clean my cells to keep them healthy, like you would with anything you are growing. The cells are kept in sterile growing chambers so they don’t get mould or bacteria, and like to live as they would in your body – at 37oC and in the dark, so are kept in a dark incubator. I then give the cells a drug or change their living conditions, and see if it makes them live for longer or whether they grow better and are more healthy. There are many ways to see this, from measuring their lifespans and what they look like, to mounting them on slides and colouring them for markers that show up only when they are e.g. stressed or growing well. I then record and chart this data to find evidence that a particular drug (or environmental condition) helps cells live longer better.