Naoki Maruyama, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Director

　Infection, starvation and predation have been the forces driving the evolution among various species. Long life span was just a dream as long as the animal species were threatened by these forces. Therefore, from ancient time till now, human being has been wishing for longevity. Those wishes yielded the legends of eternal life. In modern period we developed various scientific procedures to get health of elderly people. In Japan a remarkable elongation of life span has been achieved during 20th century. This elongation is due to economical growth and medical innovation along with improvement of social infrastructure. Elongation of mean life span as a quantity was attained. In this century it is required for us that the fruits of gerontology and geriatrics improve health as a quality in elderly people. Consequently, it is indispensable that the harmonization of the science to know aging and the technology to overcome the problems.

　Our human body has very sophisticated and fine structure. These characteristics provide the flexibility to adapt to the environmental stress. However, such a fine structure often results in senescence and geriatric diseases. In our institute five research teams are in charge of natural science on various animal species including human. Each research team has original themes which are influencing on not only gerontology but also other scientific fields. We have a confidence that our scientific researches contribute to the healthy longevity along with daily improvement of technology. Moreover, our research activities lead the research of world gerontology and bring up the next generation of researchers.