Conversations in Salamanca: understanding the ageing process Chapter II: Juan Carlos Izpisua with Xavier Sardà

Currently, the human being is increasing their life expectancy to levels that had never before been experienced. Everything that has been formulated about the random mutation and natural selection of individuals is changing. Today, thanks to the scientific community, we are able to change these laws formulated by Darwin, something that will directly affect the future of the human species, and therefore of our planet.

If we talk about ageing in today's society, we are facing one of the greatest challenges that has been presented to humanity. Genetic research continues to develop a series of processes, by which, for example, diseases could be avoided even before a person was born. This places us as human beings, facing a series of hopes, but also of intrigues that must be resolved.

These facts, as we commented, are very significant, because in the society in general, as the more long-lived segments of the population increase, the birth rate and the younger segments reduces. But, will the advances be suitable for all humans? Are we in search of active ageing or longevity?

In "Conversations of Salamanca: understanding the ageing process", we try to explain through dialogues, what ageing means in our society, so that through the knowledge of national and international experts, their research and reflections, we are able to understand it better.

In the second chapter of "Conversations in Salamanca: understanding the ageing process", our guest is the scientist Juan Carlos Izpisua, a Spanish biochemist and pharmacist, specialized in the field of development biology. He is a research professor and holds the Roger Guillemin Chair at the Gene Expression Laboratory of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in La Jolla, California.

In this chapter is the presenter of radio and television Xavier Sardà, current collaborator of the programme Al Rojo Vivo, of the La Sexta, who interviews Juan Carlos Izpisua.

To see the full conference of Juan Carlos Izpisua -> See conference

From the International Centre on Ageing (CENIE) we propose the cycle of dialogues "Conversations in Salamanca: understanding the ageing process" in order to respond to this phenomenon that is changing our world so rapidly.

The institutions that promote CENIE are the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca, the General Foundation of the Higher Council of Scientific Research, the Direção-Geral da Saúde of Portugal and the Universidade do Algarve, whose main objective is to lay the foundations for the construction of a common vision between Spain and Portugal facing such a fundamental issue nowadays as ageing.

The CENIE is part of the INTERREG V-A, Spain-Portugal Cooperation Programme (POCTEP), 2014-2020, of the European Union.