Aging

Aging is a fascinating topic. The changes in physiology and the human body as people get older are diverse, variable, and important to medicine. Diseases of accelerated aging or progerias are especially interesting. What can we learn from these rare genetic diseases where teenagers look like they're in their 70s or 80s? How can a simple mutation cause so many changes?

This is the Turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) from Monzambique and Zimbabwe which has one of the shortest life spans of a vertebrate: 3-6 months. It lives out its entire life cycle in seasonal puddles after it rains.

This is the Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) which, on the other hand, lives 205 years.

Images are taken from lecture powerpoint.