In 1993, UCSF’ s Cynthia Kenyon, PhD, and colleagues discovered a gene that, when mutated, doubles the lifespan of the miniscule roundworm C. elegans. Today, her lab is investigating drugs in human cells that could extend the healthy, vigorous lifespan of people.

The immune system possesses a type of cell that can be activated by tissues within the body to remind the immune system not to attack our own molecules, cells and organs, UCSF researchers have discovered.