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Third Public Conference: Cellular Aging
and Apoptosis Introduction In the 1990s, cellular aging and apoptosis gained prominence as two of the most exciting topics in biology. Today, science is on the cusp of appreciating how these processes are involved in human disease. This frontier was the focus of a one-day symposium at Harvard Medical School, where the Giovanni Armenise-Harvard Foundation brought together some of the world's leading researchers on cellular aging and apoptosis. Held on June 22, 2000, the program drew more than 250 enthusiastic researchers, clinicians, and students from HMS, other Boston-area medical and scientific institutions, and five Italian universities where the Foundation underwrites basic scientific research. The aging and apoptosis symposium capped a week of events that began with the naming of an HMS research building for Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise, whose generosity created the Foundation, and continued with the Foundation's 4th Annual Scientific Symposium. Although aging cells stop dividing when senescence sets in, they remain
metabolically active for a time. In apoptosis, however, healthy cells
abruptly decide to kill themselves. "Although both phenomena have been
investigated for years, only now are researchers gaining a molecular
and biochemical understanding of how they work," said program chair
Peter M. Howley, Fabian Professor of Pathology and head of the Department
of Pathology at HMS. It is increasingly clear that some diseases are
caused by the inappropriate engagement of these normal cellular processes.
A dramatic example of aging gone wrong is Werner's disease, a syndrome
that prematurely transforms children into wizened, debilitated versions
of elderly adults. Apoptosis, on the other hand, has been associated
with progressive neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cancer researchers like Dr. Howley
are also intrigued by new findings about cellular aging and apoptosis,
because only cells that escape or overcome these processes turn into
cancer cells. Ultimately, scientists hope that a better understanding
of these basic events will open the door to novel therapies for diseases
now considered difficult, or even impossible, to treat.
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