Extending healthy lifespan by a dramatic percentage

Thanks to UVA Research, You Might Live to 120. But Can Society Handle That?
By  Eric Williamson • May 12, 2023

The University of Virginia’s Class of 2023 will soon stride down the Lawn to the cheers and tears of parents and grandparents. Bittersweetly, graduation means getting older. Though the future may hold additional degrees, schooling – like one’s youth – can’t go on forever.

But what if you were told someday that you could prolong your healthy lifespan, remaining both mentally and physically sharp? And what if the increase wasn’t just a little bit more? What if you could boost those good years by as much as 50%?

In March, University of Virginia researchers reported extending healthy lifespan by that dramatic percentage in two biological models – yeast and roundworms. They also reported finding proof of the same regenerative process at work in humans. Biologist Eyleen O’Rourke and her all-UVA team first shared the enticing results in the journal Current Biology.

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Photo credit: Eyleen O’Rourke put together the team that made the groundbreaking discovery. She is an associate professor of biology and a member of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)