My guest today is Dr. David Gems who runs the C. Elegans Aging lab at the University College London. We had a fascinating discussion talking about emerging paradigms in the theories of aging. We discussed the hyperfunction theory or the programmatic theory of aging which gives a better integrated understanding of the different theories of aging that have been presented such as damage accumulation, evolutionary, antagonistic pleiotropy. It has been assumed that molecular damage is always the cause of aging, but the programmatic theory of aging shows that that might not be the case. We also discussed his critique of the hallmarks of aging and how there should be a better paradigm for the aging field. Lastly, we also discussed how research from his lab on C. Elegans might explain some of the conflict around whether sirtuins affect lifespan and how C. Elegans also show versions of this programmatic theory of aging, which can give us a better understanding of how to study aging. Note: There is a point in the conversation (40:41) where David pulls up some slides to better explain the Multifactorial Model of Aging. So if you are listening to the audio version, you might want to refer to YouTube or the show notes. All platforms / Episode Show Notes: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/dgems  Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livelongerworld   Find the previous podcast episodes & subscribe to be notified: https://www.livelongerworld.com/podcast   DR. DAVID GEMS LINKS:  Lab Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucbtdag/DGHistory.html  LIVE LONGER WORLD LINKS:  Website: https://www.livelongerworld.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/livelongerworld Newsletter: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longevityfuture/ Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/livelongerworld Podcast All Platforms: https://anchor.fm/livelongerworld YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LiveLongerWorld Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3eZAoAp Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3eZB6O5 Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3HN0keG Premium Subscriber Benefits: https://www.livelongerworld.com/premium TIMESTAMPS:  00:00 Live Longer World  00:25 David Gems Intro  1:47 History of the theories of aging  12:23 Hyperfunction / Programmatic Theory of Aging  24:57 Programmatic Theory of Aging in C. Elegans  36:59 Hyperfunction theory of Aging in Humans  40:41 Multifactorial Model of Aging 50:32 Mutation in C. Elegans affecting Sirtuin research?  59:57 Sirtuin research in humans & conflicting sirtuin research  1:04:44 Metformin affects the gut microbiome  1:07:41 Critique of the Hallmarks of Aging  1:16:12 Disruption in Early Life could lead to Aging related diseases  1:24:23 Support, share, and follow Live Longer World To find links to David Gems research discussed, please refer to the show notes: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/dgems  Thanks for listening & if you enjoy the episode, please leave a review on Apple podcasts, support on Patreon, subscribe & share!   Stay in good health - Aastha.