Science of Life Extension Speech
Matt Turner 11/2/12
SPCH-1315 Outline
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the science of life extension, including the experiments, discoveries, and theories relevant to the goal of prolonging healthy life. I. Introduction a. Attention Device: It’s 1958, and the race for a Polio vaccine is near the finish line… Hayflick announces a new discovery which stuns the scientific community: contrary to established views, cells, he claims, are not immortal. b. Reveal the topic: It’s a discovery that forever changes our understanding of the aging process. Moreover, it’s a discovery which spurs scientists toward the goal of extending healthy life. c. Establish Credibility: Having thought much about the transition into old age I myself will inevitably experience, the science of life extension greatly interests me, and I’ve researched it thoroughly. d. Relate the subject to the Audience: But, of course, this subject doesn’t pertain to just me; it pertains to all of you as well. Everyone of us is, after all, destined to become old. e. Initial Summary (Preview): Thus I want to tell you about the science that seeks to prolong life, so you can better understand the experiments, discoveries, and theories which may one day change how you age. [Transition: But before I do, it’s necessary that you first understand the greatest obstacle to that science.] II. Body a. More than anything else, aging is about cells. i. Within the nucleus of each cell are chromosomes, or the coils of DNA which provide genetic instructions for how our bodies develop and function. 1. Once an individual cell begins wearing out, it’s imperative that it make copies of those instructions and pass them onto the two new cells into which it divides. 2. If this didn’t happen, then the instructions which decide how well
you can see or how fast your metabolism is would vanish along with the worn-out cell. 3. That’s precisely what takes place when the Hayflick limit is reached and the cell stops
SPCH-1315 Outline
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the science of life extension, including the experiments, discoveries, and theories relevant to the goal of prolonging healthy life. I. Introduction a. Attention Device: It’s 1958, and the race for a Polio vaccine is near the finish line… Hayflick announces a new discovery which stuns the scientific community: contrary to established views, cells, he claims, are not immortal. b. Reveal the topic: It’s a discovery that forever changes our understanding of the aging process. Moreover, it’s a discovery which spurs scientists toward the goal of extending healthy life. c. Establish Credibility: Having thought much about the transition into old age I myself will inevitably experience, the science of life extension greatly interests me, and I’ve researched it thoroughly. d. Relate the subject to the Audience: But, of course, this subject doesn’t pertain to just me; it pertains to all of you as well. Everyone of us is, after all, destined to become old. e. Initial Summary (Preview): Thus I want to tell you about the science that seeks to prolong life, so you can better understand the experiments, discoveries, and theories which may one day change how you age. [Transition: But before I do, it’s necessary that you first understand the greatest obstacle to that science.] II. Body a. More than anything else, aging is about cells. i. Within the nucleus of each cell are chromosomes, or the coils of DNA which provide genetic instructions for how our bodies develop and function. 1. Once an individual cell begins wearing out, it’s imperative that it make copies of those instructions and pass them onto the two new cells into which it divides. 2. If this didn’t happen, then the instructions which decide how well
you can see or how fast your metabolism is would vanish along with the worn-out cell. 3. That’s precisely what takes place when the Hayflick limit is reached and the cell stops