Cynthia Jane Kenyon (born c. 1955) is an American molecular biologist and biogerontologist known for her genetic dissection of aging in a widely used model organism, the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Read full biography of Cynthia Kenyon →
It was like stepping on to an escalator; I could do anything. I was just made for science.
It's possible that we could change a human gene and double our life span. I don't know if that's true, but we can't rule that out.
The idea that ageing was subject to control was completely unexpected.
With worms you can just change genes at random and see if you can find a mutant that does what you want it to do.
Age is the single largest risk factor for an enormous number of diseases. So if you can essentially postpone aging, then you can have beneficial... →
Just living longer and being sick is the worst. But the idea that you could have fewer diseases, and just have a healthy life and then turn out the... →
The public is absolutely fascinated by aging. They don't want to get old. And you can see - read Shakespeare. Read the sonnets. They're all... →
Maybe one day we will be able to take a pill that keeps us young and healthy much longer. I believe in my heart that this will happen.
I was a little truth seeker as a child. I wanted more than anything to understand myself and also other people.
Imagine that: If you could change one of the genes in an experiment, an aging gene, maybe you could slow down aging and extend lifespan.
Life's too short to not be around nice people.
You could have two completely different careers if you could stay healthy to 90. How fascinating that would be.
You would think that UV just causes mutations, but it doesn't; you need a gene to be active for it.
Cynthia Jane Kenyon (born c. 1955) is an American molecular biologist and biogerontologist known for her genetic dissection of aging in a widely used model organism, the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans.