Could we live forever?
A great man once said, ‘Who wants to live forever’? Well, judging by the amount of money
that’s been invested in prolonging life, I’d say that quite a few people do, or
at least the very rich ones. But despite medical advances over the last century
or so, leading to a creeping increase in life expectancy there does seems to be
a limit to the length of human life, of
around a 120 years. But is that the best we could do? Could we live forever?
Well, Gerontologist Aubrey De Grey certainly thinks so. In fact,
he thinks that the first person to achieve immortality is already alive today. The
theory goes that if we can find a way to extend our lives by a few decades,
then in those decades, new advances can grand us more longevity in which time
technology will advance to add a few more years and so on.
Achieving this ‘longevity escape velocity’ in which life
expectancy is extended faster than time is passing is the holy grail of all
aging research. But what is aging? We might say wrinkles, grey hair, stiff
joints and mental decline, but inside our bodies there are more subtle
processes at work; the DNA Methylation. Extra bits of junks that our genetic
molecules accumulate over time which interfere with our gene function, plus,
over the years our genetic code can become damaged. Thanks to mutations or
mistakes made when the DNAs copy or by collisions with reactive ‘free radical’
molecules and then there are ‘Telomeres’ the protective caps of the end of all our
chromosomes which become smaller every time the cell and chromosome divide. All
these factors and more contribute to something called ‘Cell Senescence’, the
aging and deterioration of cells that produces the tangible evidence of old age.
So, to stop aging, we need to find a fix for cell
senescence. When potential solutions sound like something straight out of your favourite
vampire romance, assuming you have one is to replace your old blood with new.
It was way back in the eighteen hundreds, that scientists first started
experimenting with Para Biosis, linking two animals together so that they share
a circulatory system with some intriguingly positive results. By joining the
circulatory system of an old mouse to that of a young mouse, scientists have noticed
that in the heart, brain, muscles and almost every other tissue demined the blood
of the young mouse seems to bring new life to aging organs making old mouse
stronger, smarter and healthier. It even makes fur shinier.
Although we are still not entirely sure what it is in young
blood that’s doing the trick, evidence points to proteins that build up in our
blood as we get older. Too many of these proteins can hamper the maintenance of
body tissues and replacing with young blood massively dilute their
concentration.
This promising finding suggest that we may be able to keep
our body up and running by simply filtering out the proteins rather than needing
to undergo transfusions or running around sinking our teeth into the necks of
teen agers. Scientists are also exploring medicinal routes to eternal life, or
at least a ways of extending it a bit for now. Rapamycin, which is normally
used in organ transplants and to treat rare cancers was found to extend a mouse’s
life up to 25%. If it works in humans, that could be the equivalent of adding an
extra 30 years of life or so, raising the longevity ceiling to around a 150.
And the diabetes drug Metformin, seems to help the body run
smoothly for longer in life. Metformin increases oxygen molecules released into
a cell which appears to boost robustness and longevity and at a cost of only
around 10 p a day it could be a very affordable way of adding on those extra
years.
And finally, some futuristic gene therapy is claiming to
rewind the biological clock present in every cell. Born of a technique to turn specialized
body cells back into stem cells, scientists are attempting to partially reset
them, returning them to a younger stage but not letting them completely lose
their function. It’s still in experimental stages and apparently not ready to be
applied in humans. However the researchers
expect that the clinical trials are a decade away or so. But if other
techniques can keep us going for those years, then that longevity escape
velocity might still be achievable.
But what happens if and when we do find that fountain of
youth so that our lives span centuries and millennia rather than decades. Well
we can forget about retiring at 65 for a start. We’ll be fit and healthier for
much, much longer. So we will be able to stay and work indefinitely. Doesn’t sound
like much fun, but we’ll need it if we are going to support ourselves for
hundreds of extra years.
But with super centenarians keeping their jobs much longer,
that leaves little employment and earning potential for young people. Never
mind the worries of overpopulation and housing in a world where birth continues
a pace and death is rare. Clearly, living for ever isn’t the gate way to utopia
that we might expect.
So, may be immortality isn’t the answer, but in the short
term it can’t harm to stay healthier for longer, putting off those age related
diseases like Alzheimer’s and heart disease. And for that you don’t need a
blood transfusion or gene therapy, just some simple changes in life style
should suffice. So, eat well, sleep well and exercise regularly.
So, would you want to live forever? What
lengths would you go to to cheat death and what would you do with all that
extra time?
Courtesy: BBC Earth Lab
