Theory and Practice - S3E7: Calico’s Cynthia Kenyon on The Science of Aging

S3E7: Calico’s Cynthia Kenyon on The Science of Aging

04/19/22 • 49 min

For millennia, humans have believed that aging is inevitable. Yet thirty years ago, the work of Professor Cynthia Kenyon and her colleagues showed that a single gene mutation in a worm doubled its lifespan and postponed the diseases of aging. Recent work on the naked mole rat, a mammal like us, has shown that risk of death need not increase with age.

In the final episode of this season of Theory and Practice, we explore the genetic, cellular, and molecular basis of aging with Professor Kenyon and ask what harnessing this knowledge means for the future of healthcare.

Theory and Practice is a presentation of GV and Google AI.

This season we'll dive deep into the languages of life through explorations of the "dark genome", genome editing, protein folding, the future of aging, and more.

Hosted by Anthony Philippakis (Venture Partner at GV) and Alex Wiltschko (Staff Research Scientist with Google AI), Theory and Practice opens the doors to the cutting edge of biology and computer science through conversations with leaders in the field.

Theory and Practice is a presentation of GV and Google AI.

This season we'll dive deep into the languages of life through explorations of the "dark genome", genome editing, protein folding, the future of aging, and more.

Previous Episode

S3E6: Geoffrey Hinton on the Exploration of Thought

What is a thought? Some may think that question is quite abstract, but it has huge implications for science and computer design.

If we cannot define a human thought, how can we know if a computer can think? Only then can true Artificial Intelligence be achieved.

This week we speak to the “godfather of deep learning”, Professor Geoffrey Hinton, a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist. He is now an emeritus Professor at the University of Toronto, and an engineering fellow at Google.

Our wide-ranging discussion reflects on Professor Hinton’s journey into this field, his instrumental role in the deep learning revolution, and an analysis of when, if ever, computers might achieve the next level of intelligence.

Theory and Practice is a presentation of GV and Google AI.

This season we'll dive deep into the languages of life through explorations of the "dark genome", genome editing, protein folding, the future of aging, and more.

Next Episode

S4E1: Being Human in the Age of AI: How to Responsibly Introduce AI into Healthcare

On Season 4 of the Theory and Practice podcast, hosts Anthony Philippakis and Alex Wiltschko explore the many aspects of what it means to be human in the new era of artificial intelligence: from communication to robotic surgery and decision-making.

In episode 1, Dr. Greg Corrado, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Health AI at Google Health, explains how to responsibly introduce AI into healthcare. AI has proven itself in detecting diabetic eye disease, managing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and even encoding medical knowledge to answer patient queries, among many new and exciting applications.

Greg discusses safety concepts in AI: bias, robustness, transparency, explainability, and groundedness. He also discusses developing and maintaining datasets reflecting real-world patient realities and values.

Following this conversation, Anthony and Alex discuss Brian Christian’s book “The Most Human Human.”