Aging is not something that just happens...

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette has run an article on Dr. Cynthia Kenyon's work with manipulating C. Elegans gene equivalent of the human IGF-1 gene, and produced roundworms that live 6-10 times longer than normal. The article states that "Aging doesn't occur simply because parts wear out, but also because our genetic code is programmed to reduce the body's repair work after a certain age." Does not the last part of the sentence contradict the the assertion of the first part? If the body stops repairing itself, then it's parts simply wear out. Well, we'll let them off on that little bit of semantics, since this has the potential of greatly increasing human lifespan. I don't see that this as contraditory to any of Dr. Aubrey de Grey's suppositions for SENS, as what is accomplished by "tweaking" the daf-2 gene in c. elegans is basically enhancing/extending the repair of our parts, which is the presumption behind SENS: to repair, replace, or prevent our bodies from wearing out. I forsee some complementary research going on, one side being to enhance or extend the body's own repair mechanisms, and the other being to use external means to protect or repair our body parts with external means, and replace them if necessary.