The course intends to provide an up-to- date overview of the field of aging and gerontology. While all of us intuitively know what the aging is, many basic questions about aging are mysterious. Is aging itself a disease, and can we successfully intervene in the aging process? Or is it a program that one can hack? The course will start with a discussion of aging systems both from the view of biologist but also from the point of view of a system engenderer. We will explore the scientific discoveries made from studies of model organisms, which have led to revelations about the molecular biology of aging. We will look at aging at different angles – from population genetics to the “reliability theory”. The second part of the course will describe methods for studying aging, descriptions of population aging, and theories on how and why we age. We are going to understand why older people more likely to experience neurodegenerative disorders, stroke, and cancer and what kind of changes happen at the molecular and cellular levels that are associated with these diseases. The third part of the course provides an in depth discussion of the processes of aging in various body systems. In combination with this we will discuss some medical treatments that can extend the lifespan of organisms as diverse as yeast and primates, and the implications for successfully intervening in age-related diseases. Finally students will explore biological changes that occur with aging at the molecular and organismal levels and how they can be viewed from the perspectives of various disciplines.