Itamar Harel presents killifish as genetic model for aging at CSHL lecture

Itamar Harel argued in a CSHL Leading Strand lecture that aging, unlike development, is a long-range process shaped by genetic and environmental inputs and so offers more room for intervention. He described killifish as a model whose compressed life history allows lifespan questions to be studied in a short window, with easier mating, egg collection and CRISPR line building than mice. His findings include lifespan extension through fine-tuned metabolism, mainly in males and involving a key enzyme regulating ATP synthesis, and sexually dimorphic responses to fasting that yield similar outcomes.