Guest: Michael Petrascheck, PhD

Host: Paul Raeburn

Researchers who tested a staggering 88,000 chemical compounds in the laboratory are reporting that they’ve found a drug that extends longevity—and it’s an antidepressant. The idea that an antidepressant might increase longevity comes as a surprise. Antidepressants can be lifesaving drugs to people suffering from depression, but until now no one had thought to ask whether they might have other benefits. Reference: Nature, Nov. 22, 2007, p. 553.