International Lectures on Nature and Human Ecology
 
 

Linda Partdrige

Linda PartdrigeLinda Partridge earned her Ph.D. at Oxford University in 1974 and then worked for a long period of time at the University of Edinburgh.

In 1992 she moved to the University College of London where she is currently Weldon Professor and Director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing.

In 1996 she was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society for her scientific achievements.

She and her staff are known as the “the fly people” because their work uses Drosophila (the fruit fly) as a model to explore the underlying genes and processes that affect the timing and rate of ageing in all organisms, including humans.

may 9th / EVOLUTION AND THE AGEING PROCESS

Life expectancy is lengthening all over the world. As a result, many of us live long enough to experience the ailments of old age, and increasing interest has been channeled into trying to find ways to improve the health of people who have reached this late phase of life. Research on ageing has been boosted by the discovery of the mutation of genes that can extend the life of laboratory animals, while extending their youth and health. Some of these genes and molecules seem to have the same effects in more phylogenetically distant organisms as well, indicating the exciting possibility that research on laboratory animals can help us understand the human ageing process and intervene with it. The lecture will illustrate and discuss these breakthroughs and their implications.

D I S C U S S A N T S
Elisabetta Visalberghi / is Director of research at the Istituto Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione of CNR, and has collaborated with scientists from all over the world in her study of cognition among primates. She is president of the Società Italiana di Etologia.

Jeremy Cherfas / studied zoology and animal behavior at Oxbridge. A respected science writer, he edited the biology pages of the journal New Scientist for many years and is currently a correspondent for Thomson ISI’s Science Watch Newsletter.