Research on Aging: The End of the Beginning

Abstract

Comics, poets, and sages have all expounded on what it means to age. But only now can we begin to converse about the biology of aging. Why and how do we age? Researchers have asked these questions, and some answers are finally emerging. To speed up this process, in 2001 Science, with the aid of a major gift from the Ellison Medical Foundation, launched the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE). This Web site provides “one-stop shopping” for researchers in the field of aging and related disciplines. For a start, SAGE KE helps researchers keep up with the literature. We offer scientist-authored commentaries and journalist-written news stories on current research findings. Visitors to our site can find authoritative reviews written by prominent scientists and can access a storehouse of community information: case studies, discussions, a calendar of meetings on aging, a database of genes/interventions and mouse models related to aging, and a directory of people working in the field. In addition, SAGEKE houses a virtual journal whose search engine is trained to find new papers on aging no matter where they are published. Access to SAGE KE is free until 26 March 2003.