You are a biogerontologist whether you like it or not!

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Failure of vaccine manufacturers to grow cell cultures

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You are a biogerontologist whether you like it or not!

Leonard Hayflick Scientist

	Views	Duration
131. Establishing criteria for the karyology of our cell cultures	49	02:31
132. You are a biogerontologist whether you like it or not!	53	01:48
133. Failure of vaccine manufacturers to grow cell cultures	45	01:25
134. Physical chemistry frustrates my concept for medium formulation	42	03:38
135. Eagle's medium	42	00:47
136. David Kritchevsky and the ball mill	41	02:55
137. Developing the powdered media industry	31	04:36
138. Why powdered medium couldn't be patented	41	00:58
139. Cell immortalization	57	03:07
140. My work was not supported by either a grant or a contract	56	02:25

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Now the subsequent events that occurred involved the business of aging. Having introduced that as a possible explanation for what we had found, I recall not being terribly happy about becoming a biogerontologist. I recall being dragged screaming and yelling into the field by the president of the... then president of the Gerontological Society of America, a towering man who was at least six inches to a foot taller than me who approached me when I was invited to give a paper at the first gerontology, or GSA, society meeting that I attended. And he came up to me, he looked down at me, and he said, 'Hayflick, you are a biogerontologist whether you like it or not. We are fascinated with your work and I'm going to demand that you become a member of the society in the biological sciences section.'

And I was persuaded by this gentleman to join, which I did do. And I did it reluctantly, but as the years rolled by became more and more convinced that I was a biogerontologist because of subsequent events.

Leonard Hayflick (b. 1928), the recipient of several research prizes and awards, including the 1991 Sandoz Prize for Gerontological Research, is known for his research in cell biology, virus vaccine development, and mycoplasmology. He also has studied the ageing process for more than thirty years. Hayflick is known for discovering that human cells divide for a limited number of times in vitro (refuting the contention by Alexis Carrel that normal body cells are immortal), which is known as the Hayflick limit, as well as developing the first normal human diploid cell strains for studies on human ageing and for research use throughout the world. He also made the first oral polio vaccine produced in a continuously propogated cell strain - work which contributed to significant virus vaccine development.

Title: You are a biogerontologist whether you like it or not!

Listeners: Christopher Sykes

Christopher Sykes is a London-based television producer and director who has made a number of documentary films for BBC TV, Channel 4 and PBS.

Tags: Gerontology Society of America

Duration: 1 minute, 48 seconds

Date story recorded: July 2011

Date story went live: 08 August 2012