This episode is with Steven Austad. He is the Protective Life Endowed Chair in Health Aging Research, a Distinguished professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Steven has been at the forefront of unraveling the mysteries of why some individuals live longer and healthier lives than others. His work covers a diverse array of topics, from the cellular mechanisms of aging to the evolutionary aspects of longevity in various species. In this conversation we talk about what is ageing?, biggest challenges in the field of ageing, evolutionary aspects of ageing, chronic illnesses and how to increase human life span? Guest info: Website: https://www.uab.edu/cas/biology/people/faculty/steven-n-austad Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenAustad Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Steven-N-Austad/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ASteven+N.+Austad Episode links: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/evolutionary-aspects-of-ageing-with-steven-austad Youtube: https://youtu.be/823Yw2LtOSs?si=UzDtGW2npXjmS2VC Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/48kythKGzGRRP0kprH2URf?si=bLVx4NCsQuCVdwH2J6EyvA Apple podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/evolutionary-aspects-of-ageing-%7C-steven-austad-%7C-reason-with-science-%7C-lifespan-%7C-human-health/c45d0d4e-0054-4519-8697-22e4a8649162 Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NmE1M2MzMDMtODMyYy00MjNkLTg2YTctNDI3ZGQzZTk2NTc2?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiYsL_O56CBAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA Follow Reason with Science: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894 Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:08 How did you decide to work on ageing? 00:03:21 Why some species age faster than others? 00:03:56 Evolutionary perspective of ageing 00:05:42 What is ageing? 00:06:13 Challenges in studying ageing 00:09:49 What is longevity and longevity quotient? 00:12:18 How does flight affects ageing? 00:17:21 Correlation between habitat of animals and their lifespan 00:19:07 Factors affecting lifespan of animals in the wild or in captivity 00:20:59 Importance of regeneration for the survival 00:22:58 Flight independently evolved four times 00:25:55 Temperature dependent change of sex 00:27:10 Wisdom- the oldest confirmed wild bird 00:28:58 What are the challenges to get the age of an animal correctly? 00:37:12 Relationship between size of the animal and longevity 00:40:42 Vampire bats 00:41:41 Lifespan of naked mole rats 00:44:31 Impact of high altitude on human health 00:46:37 Lifespan of hummingbirds 00:49:22 Lessons for human longevity from evolutionary biology 00:56:04 Steven's work on Restrictive eating 01:02:04 It is important to couple restrictive eating with weight training 01:04:40 Comment on diets 01:06:58 There are no biomarkers for ageing 01:08:27 When can we have a good consensus on healthy lifestyle? 01:10:10 Life at the age of 77 01:11:28 Ethical implications of increasing human lifespan 01:13:53 Thank you More on Reason with Science: 1) The evolutionary origins of a good society | Nicholas Christakis | Reason with Science | Psychology ( • The evolutionary origins of a good so... ) 2) Food for your health | Dr. Robert Lustig | Reason with Science | Sugar | Diets | Healthy Lifestyle ( • Food for your health | Dr. Robert Lus... )