Israelis excel in finding keys to long life

What genes hold the key to longevity? Why does long life run in certain families? Could age-related diseases be conquered by slowing the aging process? Why do people lose muscle mass as they age, and why do smokers lose it faster?

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These are some of the questions Israeli biogerontologists are answering for a world where the average age is on the rise and the number of people 65 and older is expected to double by 2040. A hot topic across the globe, the biology of aging was pioneered in Israel some 40 years ago by Amiela Globerson and David Danon of the Weizmann Institute of Science along with Dr. David Gershon from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Recently, prominent Israelis in this field at home and abroad gathered with international counterparts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) for the eighth European Congress of Biogerontology — the first time this event was held in Israel. More...