To live a hundred years — not so difficult as to prove the individual. In theory, we could live for centuries. On this work, many scientists dream, but so far not much success. Do you have someone your own age a chance to live hundreds of years? Would there be a chance for younger generations? Question long life and, importantly, healthy life, worries many in the field of biology and medicine. Molecular biologists, geneticists, nutritionists, are committed to the ultimate goal — to delay the appearance of senile diseases, and then to root them out.
Although reducing the burden of disease is the goal of public health, which motivates government and community physicians to carry out research in the field of ageing, namely a long life — the search for the elixir of eternal youth, immortality — captures the imagination.
Unless you consider war, famine or major economic collapse, the human lifespan has grown steadily worldwide over the past century. Life expectancy in Australia is around 83 years, the fourth-largest in the world. These benefits are largely due to improved access to health care and its quality. We have yet to see the effect of therapies specifically designed to treat aging and it can lead to an increase in life expectancy.
What are the researchers
Most of the so-called “Gerasimenya” compounds that are being developed that mimic the effects of caloric restriction or exercise. Calorie restriction throughout life, reducing calorie intake by approximately 30% is one of the most powerful interventions known prolongation of life.
Over the last twenty years research on aging sought to determine what genes and molecular path are switched to limit the diet and increase physical activity. This led to the opening of a number of ways (called sirtuins, insulin/IGF-I signaling, mTOR and AMPK) that can be used to manipulate animals and prolong their life. Antidiabetic drug metmorfin activates one of them and is also being tested as a means of improving people’s health in old age.
Another way of extending life can be destruction of senescent, or old and damaged cells that cause disease. But here’s the thing: these pathways can extend life by only 30%, so from a “normal” life in ‘ 83, we live only a century.
Although live more than a hundred years will be the already a huge achievement, is not even close to century, dream of the people. To achieve this goal, biologists age will have to go to great feats, beyond calorie restriction, changes in metabolism and leaching of old cells.
Possible future directions
Instead, we can look for inspiration in nature. Medusa-Hydra does not show appreciable biological aging and functionally immortal, most likely due to the high content of stem cells that can replenish adult body. Another species, Turritopsis dohrnii, the “immortal jellyfish”, is able to translate an adult body in a youthful state, and then again to grow up, repeating the cycle almost endlessly.
How do we forge the immortality of the Medusa? For a start, we could reprogram their “epigenomes”, the build that hold various pieces of our DNA code is turned on and off. Curiously, we already know how to do it. There are just four of the gene, “Yamanaka factors” that keep adult cells to an embryonic stem cell — like Benjamin button, which the old man turns into a baby.
In theory, the inclusion of these factors in the right time and right place could rejuvenate our bodies. In theory, we could live for centuries.
The problem is how to figure out when, where, how much and how to include these factors Yamanaka. Overexposed and organs can turn into a mass of undifferentiated embryonic stem cells that can grow into the fabric is not of that type. To nethergate and will have no effect. You need to find the right dose. Human trials would be too risky.
It should be remembered that the extension of lifespan in itself is not the same as the extension of quality of life or healthy years. There is no need to postpone death, doing periods of illness longer. The ultimate goal should be to reduce the time during which people are sick.
At some time before death every crosses the threshold of independence, healthy and active state, become addicted, sick and sedentary. How much time we spend on overcoming this point the figure at everyone, but all agree that it must be minimal in comparison with healthy years lived by people.
Changing lifestyles, advances in technology and medicine aims to maximize the proportion of time spent on life, and to delay the (inevitable) appearance associated with aging diseases. But to live for centuries is a dream will remain a dream.
When we can live two hundred, three hundred, four hundred years and more?
Ilya Hel