Can we live forever? - the science of ageing
Science & Cocktails is proud to present an episode with legendary geneticist, Professor Dame Linda Partridge, on how to extend the lifespan of various species, including humans. Can we change or adapt biology such that we will be able to live forever? As current director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Ageing, Linda Partridge will completely blow your mind with what we now know about the processes that can prolong life. Before just that the instrumental duo KALEIIDO will take the stage with their atmospheric melodies and sound universes.
Can we live forever? Why do the cells in our body tend to degrade and die? Why do the processes that make our human body function become worse over time? Why are certain specific diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson tend to appear with increasing age? Can we change biology as to stop cells from ageing? What things can we do increase the duration of our lives?
We are living a lot longer than our ancestors did and so we are more and more seeing the ills of old age but what if getting old did not mean getting frail and ill? Recent research has yielded a much better understanding of how ageing happens, and how it leads to the ills of old age. Ageing is not inevitable, and it can be changed by lifestyle and drugs. In laboratory animals it turns out to be possible to target ageing with diet and with existing drugs to promote better health in late life. Tackling the processes involved in ageing itself can also combat the diseases that come with ageing.
The molecular network in our cells that senses food and stress is a promising target to combat ageing, and has already had success in clinical trials. On the more distant horizon, other interventions are appearing too. Linda Partridge will take us on a tour through the science of ageing and express the existent interest in seeing if we can tackle human ageing to prevent or delay the unhealthy period at the end of life.
Event held in English with the generous support of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Talk by
Linda Partridge
Professor Dame Linda Partridge is a British geneticist, who studies the biology and genetics of ageing and age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Partridge is currently Weldon Professor of Biometry at the Institute of Healthy Ageing, Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, and Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany. Partridge has received multiple awards for her work. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1996 and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2003. She was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2004, and awarded the Linnean Society of London's prestigious Darwin-Wallace Medal in 2008. In 2009, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), and received the Croonian Lectureship from the Royal Society. She received the Mott Prize Lecture in 2014 and the Mendel Medal in 2021.
Music by
KALEIIDO
Guitarist Anna Roemer and saxophonist Cecilie Strange have joined forces for a common musical vision — to create music that moves in time, space and place. Based on increasing hype from their concerts in 2019, the duo K A L E II D O released the critically acclaimed debut album VOYAGE in January 2021. With roots in jazz and the tradition of improvisation, they have created an atmospheric and ambient sound on the album, where the instruments move in an emotional way talk about each other.
K A L E II D O performs live with changing crews ranging from duo to sextet, which means that their expression and sound are in constant change and development. In 2021, K A L E II D O played a release tour on, among others, ALICE in Kbh and Radar in Aarhus as well as festival jobs such as the Rising Festival in June in Musikhuzet, Rønne and in Brorsons Kirken during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in July. In August, K A L E II D O was selected to play the Summer Stage on DR P8 Jazz. A program series with host Mikael Simpson under the theme of duos. Anna and Cecilie were put together in a two-hour program that alternated between playing live and interviews about their inspiration as musicians and in KALEIIDO.
The duo's unique style has created excitement among the audience and not least among reviewers at home and abroad. The radio station P8 Jazz has particularly embraced VOYAGE, which was selected as Album of the Week upon release. K A L E II D O was nominated for the Carl Prize in the category "Jazz Composer of the Year" and for the Danish Music Awards Jazz in the "New Name of the Year" category. K A L E II D O's music has also landed firmly on Spotify Editorial playlists such as State of Jazz and Jazz Today and as a result has garnered streams worldwide.