Evolution and aging – Plattsburgh Press Republican

PLATTSBURGH The true definition of aging, according toPlattsburgh State Associate Biology Professor Dr. Joel Parker,is determined by a populations overall mortality rate.

Humans develop as children, then the mortality rate flatlines in their 20s and 30s.

This age is as mortal as you are ever going to get," Parker shared inDeath and Darwin: Why Evolution Does Not Save Us From Agingat the firstScience@30City event of the season at the Champlain Wine Company in Plattsburgh.

Once a human sees his or her 30s, they begin the aging process, he later explained.

I dont think everyone knows that really, lecture attendee Dina Hurwitz said. They didnt even here, so I thought that was pretty interesting.

Parker, who was there to discussthe impacts genetics and evolution have on aging,began his talk by stumping the audience with questions about the aging process. He presented a time-lapsed photo of a child changing into a middle-aged and then elderly woman, asking the audience at which stage of the photos the aging process began.

Parker aScience@30Cityco-founder continued his talk by outlining the different elements of aging and the impact of studies perfected by Charles Darwin, such as natural selection. Parker said the selection process only works on the living.

Something is going to get you, he said of inevitable death; human civilization has moved the selective shadow, but evolution has not yet caught up.

He also demonstrated geologic time, or the clock analogy by creating a proportional timeline of Earths lifespan relative to the development of civilization. Of the 316 miles from the present day Champlain Wine Company to the beginning of time, Ellis Island humans only developed, relative to the timeline, a few blocks away on Oak Street.

Parker discussed various theories on aging and evolution as well, such as the free radical theory, which Parker claimed has ironically died, or been proven inaccurate, and the Telomere Theory of Aging, which explains the shortening and dividing of telomeres found in DNA.

I kicked this off with aging last year, and I think its something that happens to everybody, so it relates to people and so I thought it was a really good one, Parker said of the lecture.

Science@30City is a series of scientific lectures open to the local community; thisfirst lecture of the spring sessions attracted around two-dozen local residents and students of various ages.

The program began in fall 2015after Parker and friend and Champlain Wine Company co-owner Colin Read noticed a disconnect between the SUNY Plattsburgh campus and the city. Parker said these lectures are beneficial for both the college and surrounding area because it brings them together for real conversations in an off-campus environment.

The project turned into a collaborative effort between Parker, his wife, Karen, and Read and his wife, Natalie Peck.

Peck, who co-owns Champlain Wine Company, said the crowds have been more interested in listening to and speaking at the lectures since the series began.

As a part of our community focus at the Champlain Wine Company, its something that weve really been looking to do to bring not just people from the college but other experts in the area in and just talk about things that they know about for interested people."

IF YOU GO

Each lecture is free and open to the public. Sessions are held at 30 City Hall Place. Most sessions are on the first and third Monday of each month. All begin at 5:30 p.m.

The next four sessions this semester are:

Monday, March 20: Astronomy and Cosmology at 30 City with Herb Carpenter, lecturer in the School of Business and Economics.

Monday, April 3: Danger and Research in a Mexican Sulfur Cave, with Dr. Kathleen Lavoie, professor, biological sciences.

Monday, April 17: How the Sioux Holy Man Black Elk Taught the Science of Electromagnetism, with Jeff Cochran.

Monday, May 1: Dementia Caregiver Support in the North Country, with Dr. Richard Durant, director, Center for Neurobehavioral Health.

For more information, contact Dr. Joel Parker, associate professor of biology, at 564-5279 or joel.parker@plattsburgh.edu.

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Evolution and aging - Plattsburgh Press Republican