Age-related diseases are definitely related, perhaps by only a few forms of damage accumulating in different tissues. Even with this simplification assumed, there is still an enormous amount of work to be done in beginning to address the inevitable breakdown of the integrity of biological systems we know as the phenomenon of aging.

Long gone are the days when physical scientists could expect to make huge discoveries in isolation, furiously working long hours cloistered in their labs. The most important breakthroughs of today and the future will be a result of the synergy of the efforts of many disciplines furiously working together and brought to bear on complex problems, and there is a definite complexity to aging. Computer and social scientists, bioinformaticians working alongside of physical and chemical engineers, and many others will help to provide the biological field leverage to solve basic challenges which could never be approached without them. Indeed, perhaps the greatest roadblock to progress is the fragmentation of efforts along traditional lines demarcating relevant research from others.

This round table is meant to bring together scientific researchers of diverse talent and opinion to discuss the slow loss of function of biological systems with time from both a biomedical and social perspective and ways to accelerate the discovery of interventions and mitigate the social roadblocks which slow their development. Audio-visual facilities are available for those who might need them.

The Roundtable will be held from approximately 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM in the comfortable environment of the Faculty Club in the Harriet Winspear room where Friday night supper is being held. You can provide topics for discussion when you register or via email.

In addition to the Roundtable, for those who would prefer, other events occurring at the same time are a Bioethics Discussion or of a lighter nature,  the Rutherford House Reception.

• Can sex hormone replacement safely square the curve?
  - Ben Best
  
• Isomerization and racemization of amino-acids in proteins in the course of aging and repair mechanisms.
  - Alex Zhavoronkov
  
• Glycomics and Glycobiology
  - Greg Walker
  
•  Maintenance of growth hormone secretion in aging: good or bad?
  - Pierrette Gaudreau
  
• The role of Lamin-A in normal aging.
  - Stan Primmer
  
• DHEA as a comprehensive repair signal.
  - Stephen Cherniske
  
• Supercentenarian Research Foundation - UCLA Autopsy results
  - Stephen Coles
  
• How large a role does neurology play in life extension? What do we need to learn about the brain in order to make indefinite lifespan possible?
  - Jeremy Burghall

If you would like to provide a topic, please check the "Fri Science Roundtable" box and enter the topic into the comment box when you register, or email it to the  organizer.