Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have undertaken the first ever comprehensive analysis of autophagy in a living animal during aging. “Autophagy,” which means “self-eating” based on its Greek roots, is the normal physiological process the body’s cells use to remove viruses, bacteria, and damaged material from the cell. Autophagy also helps cells “clean house” by recycling building blocks—similar to the way we recycle glass, plastic and metal. In recent years, defective autophagy has been linked to age-related diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and heart disease.