Photo: #Rhesus monkeys, left to right, Canto, 27, on a restricted diet, and Owen, 29, a control subject on an unrestricted diet, are pictured at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 28, 2009. The two are among the oldest surviving subjects in a pioneering long-term study of the links between diet and aging in Rhesus macaque monkeys, which have an average life span of about 27 years in captivity.
Photo: #Rhesus monkeys, left to right, Canto, 27, on a restricted diet, and Owen, 29, a control subject on an unrestricted diet, are pictured at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 28, 2009.
Photo: #Rhesus monkey Canto, 27, on a restricted diet, is pictured at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 28, 2009.
Photo: #Rhesus monkey Owen, 29, a control subject on an unrestricted diet, is pictured at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 28, 2009.
Photo: #Brain scans of two different Rhesus macaque monkeys illustrate the findings of a landmark study of diet and aging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The image on the left shows the brain of an animal allowed free rein at the dinner table (control), while the image on the right shows the brain of a monkey that for two decades has been on a nutritious but reduced-calorie diet. The brain of the animal allowed to eat freely has less tissue volume and more fluid (bright areas) than the brain of a monkey on the low-cal diet. The images suggest less brain atrophy or cell loss with aging for animals that consume a diet with 30 percent fewer calories than if they were permitted to eat as much as they like.
Photo: #On May 28, 2009, Richard Weindruch (left) and Ricki Colman dress in clean and protective garb before entering one of the monkey colony areas at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Weindruch, a professor of medicine in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and Colman, associate scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, are part of a team of researchers involved in a pioneering long-term study of the links between diet and aging in Rhesus macaque monkeys.
Larger view
Rhesus monkeys, left to right, Canto, 27, on a restricted diet, and Owen, 29, a control subject on an unrestricted diet, are pictured at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 28, 2009. The two are among the oldest surviving subjects in a pioneering long-term study of the links between diet and aging in Rhesus macaque monkeys, which have an average life span of about 27 years in captivity. (courtesy of Jeff Miller/University of Wisconsin-Madison)
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What science can reveal about aging


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Newly published research on monkeys' diets suggest that a restricted-calorie diet could be the key for humans to live longer. How is scientific research changing our view of longevity, and will it give clues to how we will age in the future?

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  • Richard Weindruch: Gerontologist and researcher, directs the Aging and Cancer Developing Program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and leads the study on caloric restriction in monkeys.
  • Robert Butler: Gerontologist, psychiatrist and president/CEO of the International Longevity Center-USA. His book "Why Survive? Being Old in America" won a Pulitzer Prize.
  • Richard Miller: Associate Director for Research, Geriatrics Center at the University of Michigan.

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