The idea that ageing was subject to control was completely unexpected.

Imagine that: If you could change one of the genes in an experiment, an aging gene, maybe you could slow down aging and extend lifespan.

In principle, if you understood the mechanisms of keeping things repaired, you could keep things going indefinitely.

Life's too short to not be around nice people.

A big tree seemed even more beautiful to me when I imagined thousands of tiny photosynthesis machines inside every leaf. So I went to MIT and worked on bacteria because that's where people knew the most about these switches, how to control the genetics.

You would think that UV just causes mutations, but it doesn't, you need a gene to be active for it.

It was like stepping on to an escalator; I could do anything. I was just made for science.