Long before Steven Austad became a respected scholar in aging research, he wrangled lions, tigers, cougars and the occasional bear and elephant for the Hollywood film industry.

As a professor and interim director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, he also works with animals this time, studying a wide range of species to discover how they age.

Besides the usual lab rats and mice, his research subjects include clams that live up to 500 years.

There are hearts out there that have been beating since before Shakespeare was born, says Austad, 65. We're hoping that by studying some of these animals that have been so successful at resisting aging, we'll figure out ways to help humans stay healthy longer as well.

Austad joins S.A. Life today as a columnist writing about aging. His columns will appear every other Sunday.

Seventy-five percent of how well we age has to do with our lifestyle habits, not our genes, according to Austad.

So you're really in control of your health destiny, he says.

While researchers are close to having effective medications for aging, he says, at this point we can't tell you more than what your mother probably did, Austad says, which is all things in moderation, stay active mentally and physically and avoid bad habits, such as smoking, such as eating too much and drinking too much.

His column will address ways in which people can affect their health destiny, but also will inform his audience about this wonderfully interesting and complex process of aging that not just people but everything undergoes, he says.

Austad earned bachelor's degrees in English literature from UCLA and biology from California State, Northridge. His Ph.D. in biology is from Purdue University.

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S.A. Life column will focus on aging, health