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Seeking Longer Lives; Slower Aging; Even Immortality

would u take a pill to live forever?

  • yes

    Votes: 7 43.8%
  • maybe

    Votes: 6 37.5%
  • no

    Votes: 2 12.5%
  • no, and would outlaw it

    Votes: 1 6.3%

  • Total voters
    16
Kondoru said:
Very funny, but some valid points.

I doubt, somehow, that people would want to live more than a thousand years.

Speak for yourself!
 
I like the last one ("You'll end up trapped somewhere - forever").

A true immortal would find that a real problem. You'd end up frozen into the ice as the Sun slowly cools into a black dwarf, then you'd have to wait wait as the planet slowly evaporates thanks to quantum tunneling.

Eventually you'd be trapped in a Hubble Volume with only yourself in it...

Being a true immortal certainly has its drawbacks.
 
But I suspect a true immortal would be adapted to this, and have an immortal sized patience
 
Who needs another reason to eat curries?

The spice of life: Curry’s main ingredient has more to offer than good flavor
http://www.physorg.com/news206020290.html
October 11th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Health


Turmeric has long been used as a natural way to treat a host of ailments. Mahtab Jafari’s study is the first to show how its active ingredient impacts age-associated genes and increases longevity in fruit flies. Image: Daniel A. Anderson

Mahtab Jafari's research shows curry's main ingredient has more to offer than good flavor. It extended the lifespan of fruit flies by up to 20 percent, while improving locomotion and having tumor-prevention properties.

Along with giving curries and other spicy Asian dishes a bright golden color and peppery flavor, turmeric has been used for centuries as an herbal medicine to treat a host of ailments, like upset stomach, arthritic pain, cuts and bruises.

Mahtab Jafari, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UC Irvine, has discovered that the main active ingredient in turmeric may have even greater health benefits. In a study published in Rejuvenation Research, she and Korean researcher Kyung-Jin Min found that curcumin extended the lifespan of fruit flies by up to 20 percent, while improving locomotion and having tumor-prevention properties.

As a member of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, Jafari studies the potential anti-aging qualities of foods many people use for their purported health benefits, such as Rhodiola rosea, green tea extract and Rosa damascena, which is found in rose water.

“Mahtab’s research area is extremely important, because most herbals and medicinal foods remain unregulated, with little scientific evidence that they’re effective or safe,” says Dr. Wadie Najm, the Samueli Center’s medical director. “Her work builds a great foundation for letting us know whether a product really provides health benefits.”

Here, Jafari discusses her findings about curcumin and shares insights on medicinal foods and herbal remedies in general.

Q: Why did you focus on curcumin?

A: Curcumin has many reported therapeutic benefits in humans. Preliminary results from laboratory studies suggest that the spice has anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Currently, the National Institutes of Health is also funding basic research on the potential role of curcumin in preventing acute respiratory distress syndrome, liver cancer and postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Q: Why did flies that received curcumin supplements live longer?

A: While curcumin works as an antioxidant, we don’t exactly know why flies lived longer. But since curcumin affected age-associated genes, we can hypothesize that it affected the aging process.

Q: How can this translate into longer, healthier lives for people?

A: Although flies and humans share many genes and aging pathways, we won’t be able to extrapolate our work to people. However, there are a number of current human studies on the benefits of curcumin.

Q: Any words of warning about medicinal foods?

A: There are many media reports on their advantages, but unless such products are evaluated in sound scientific studies for their efficacy and safety, the public should be skeptical. Knowledge is power! People need to scrutinize hype.

Q: Many cultures have advocated certain foods for improving health. Which claims have been scientifically proven?

A: I believe science is behind in studying the value and therapeutic benefits of the medicinal foods and practices of various groups around the globe. In many cultures, native plants are used in their natural form or in high-quality extracts. Unfortunately, the authenticity of some of these “natural” products in the U.S. market could be questionable. Regardless, there are many plants and food products scientifically proven to have positive effects on our health — gingko, fish oil, ginseng, garlic, antioxidant fruits such as berries and, of course, the main plant I work with, Rhodiola rosea.

Q: How did you develop an interest in this field of research, and does it influence your use of medicinal foods?

A: Until 2005, I worked mainly with pharmaceuticals. But when I joined UCI’s new pharmaceutical sciences program in January 2005, using the fruit fly as my model system, I screened about 75 pharmaceuticals and botanicals for their potential anti-aging properties. Only a few botanical extracts extended the fly lifespan without compromising its health. After learning more about these and realizing how safe they are, I shifted the focus of my work to plants.

On a personal level, I’ve always been fascinated by the benefits of medicinal foods and how herbal remedies from various cultures have been used for hundreds and thousands of years around the globe. Yet Western medicine doesn’t approve of them due to the lack of scientific data. My research is an opportunity to change this.

Provided by UC Irvine
 
High Alpha-Carotene Levels Associated With Longer Life
23 Nov 2010

High blood levels of the antioxidant alpha-carotene appear to be associated with a reduced risk of dying over a 14-year period, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the March 28 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Oxygen-related damage to DNA, proteins and fats may play a role in the development of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer, according to background information in the article. Carotenoids-including beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lycopene-are produced by plants and microorganisms and act as antioxidants, counteracting this damage. Carotenoids in the human body are obtained mainly through eating fruits and vegetables rich in the nutrients, or through antioxidant supplements.

Although studies suggest eating more fruits and vegetables is associated with lower risk of chronic diseases, randomized controlled trials have not shown any benefit for beta-carotene supplements, the authors note. "Therefore, carotenoids other than beta-carotene may contribute to the reduction in disease risk, and their effects on risk of disease merit investigation," the authors write.

Chaoyang Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues assessed the relationship between alpha-carotene and the risk of death among 15,318 adults age 20 and older who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Follow-up Study. Participants underwent a medical examination and provided blood samples between 1988 and 1994, and were followed through 2006 to determine whether and how they died.

Over the course of the study, 3,810 participants died; the risk for dying was lower with higher levels of alpha-carotene in the blood. Compared with individuals with blood alpha-carotene levels between 0 and 1 micrograms per deciliter, the risk of death during the study period was 23 percent lower among who had concentrations between 2 and 3 micrograms per deciliter, 27 percent lower with levels between 4 and 5 micrograms per deciliter, 34 percent lower with levels between 6 and 8 micrograms per deciliter and 39 percent lower with levels of 9 micrograms per deciliter or higher.

Higher alpha-carotene concentration also appeared to be associated with lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer individually, and of all other causes. "The association between serum alpha-carotene concentrations and risk of death from all causes was significant in most subgroups stratified by demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits and health risk factors," the authors write.

Alpha-carotene is chemically similar to beta-carotene but may be more effective at inhibiting the growth of cancer cells in the brain, liver and skin, they note. "Moreover, results from a population-based case-control study of the association between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and risk of lung cancer suggest that consumption of yellow-orange (carrots, sweet potatoes or pumpkin and winter squash) and dark-green (broccoli, green beans, green peas, spinach, turnips greens, collards and leaf lettuce) vegetables, which have a high alpha-carotene content, was more strongly associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer than was consumption of all other types of vegetables," the authors write.

The results support increasing fruit and vegetable consumption as a way of preventing premature death, and suggest a need for clinical research into the health benefits of alpha-carotene, they conclude.

(Arch Intern Med. Published online November 22, 2010. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.440. )

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/208889.php
 
Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans
Harvard scientists were surprised that they saw a dramatic reversal, not just a slowing down, of the ageing in mice. Now they believe they might be able to regenerate human organs
Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Sunday 28 November 2010

Scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the ageing process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies.

The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the ageing process.

An anti-ageing therapy could have a dramatic impact on public health by reducing the burden of age-related health problems, such as dementia, stroke and heart disease, and prolonging the quality of life for an increasingly aged population.

"What we saw in these animals was not a slowing down or stabilisation of the ageing process. We saw a dramatic reversal – and that was unexpected," said Ronald DePinho, who led the study, which was published in the journal Nature.

"This could lead to strategies that enhance the regenerative potential of organs as individuals age and so increase their quality of life. Whether it serves to increase longevity is a question we are not yet in a position to answer."

The ageing process is poorly understood, but scientists know it is caused by many factors. Highly reactive particles called free radicals are made naturally in the body and cause damage to cells, while smoking, ultraviolet light and other environmental factors contribute to ageing.

The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing.

At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing.

"These were severely aged animals, but after a month of treatment they showed a substantial restoration, including the growth of new neurons in their brains," said DePinho.

Repeating the trick in humans will be more difficult. Mice make telomerase throughout their lives, but the enzyme is switched off in adult humans, an evolutionary compromise that stops cells growing out of control and turning into cancer. Raising levels of telomerase in people might slow the ageing process, but it makes the risk of cancer soar.

DePinho said the treatment might be safe in humans if it were given periodically and only to younger people who do not have tiny clumps of cancer cells already living, unnoticed, in their bodies.

David Kipling, who studies ageing at Cardiff University, said: "The goal for human tissue 'rejuvenation' would be to remove senescent cells, or else compensate for the deleterious effects they have on tissues and organs. Although this is a fascinating study, it must be remembered that mice are not little men, particularly with regard to their telomeres, and it remains unclear whether a similar telomerase reactivation in adult humans would lead to the removal of senescent cells."

Lynne Cox, a biochemist at Oxford University, said the study was "extremely important" and "provides proof of principle that short-term treatment to restore telomerase in adults already showing age-related tissue degeneration can rejuvenate aged tissues and restore physiological function."

DePinho said none of Harvard's mice developed cancer after the treatment. The team is now investigating whether it extends the lifespan of mice or enables them to live healthier lives into old age.

Tom Kirkwood, director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, said: "The key question is what might this mean for human therapies against age-related diseases? While there is some evidence that telomere erosion contributes to age-associated human pathology, it is surely not the only, or even dominant, cause, as it appears to be in mice engineered to lack telomerase. Furthermore, there is the ever-present anxiety that telomerase reactivation is a hallmark of most human cancers."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/ ... ice-humans
 
Anyone seen the old Hammer or Amicus film The Asphyx? It has a really really creepy premise that deals with living forever.
 
locussolus said:
Anyone seen the old Hammer or Amicus film The Asphyx? It has a really really creepy premise that deals with living forever.

Yeah, rather dark and nasty. Nothing glam about being an Immortal in it.
 
What Governs Maximum Lifespan? Study Of Aging Rates, Gender Gap In Mortality Across Primates Inconclusive

12 Mar 2011

Humans aren't the only ones who grow old gracefully, says a new study of primate aging patterns.

For a long time it was thought that humans, with our relatively long life spans and access to modern medicine, aged more slowly than other animals. Early comparisons with rats, mice, and other short-lived creatures confirmed the hunch. But now, the first-ever multi-species comparison of human aging patterns with those in chimps, gorillas, and other primates suggests the pace of human aging may not be so unique after all.

The findings appear in the March 11 issue of Science.

You don't need to read obituaries or sell life insurance to know that death and disease become more common as we transition from middle age to old age. But scientists studying creatures from mice to fruit flies long assumed the aging clock ticked more slowly for humans.

We had good reason to think human aging was unique, said co-author Anne Bronikowski, an associate professor at Iowa State University. For one, humans live longer than many animals. There are some exceptions - parrots, seabirds, clams and tortoises can all outlive us - but humans stand out as the longest-lived primates.

"Humans live for many more years past our reproductive prime," Bronikowski said. "If we were like other mammals, we would start dying fairly rapidly after we reach mid-life. But we don't," she said.

"There's been this argument in the scientific literature for a long time that human aging was unique, but we didn't have data on aging in wild primates besides chimps until recently," said co-author Susan Alberts, associate director at the NSF-funded National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, N.C., and a biologist at Duke University.

The researchers combined data from long-term studies of seven species of wild primates: capuchin monkeys from Costa Rica, muriqui monkeys from Brazil, baboons and blue monkeys from Kenya, chimpanzees from Tanzania, gorillas from Rwanda, and sifaka lemurs from Madagascar.

The team focused not on the inevitable decline in health or fertility that come with advancing age, but rather on the risk of dying. When they compared human aging rates - measured as the rate at which mortality risk increases with age - to similar data for nearly 3,000 individual monkeys, apes and lemurs, the human data fell neatly within the primate continuum.

"Human patterns are not strikingly different, even though wild primates experience sources of mortality from which humans may be protected," the authors wrote in a letter to Science.

The results also confirm a pattern observed in humans and elsewhere in the animal kingdom: as males age, they die sooner than their female counterparts. In primates, the mortality gap between males and females is narrowest for the species with the least amount of male-male aggression - a monkey called the muriqui - the researchers report.

"Muriquis are the only species in our sample in which males do not compete overtly with one another for access to mates," said co-author Karen Strier, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin who has studied muriquis since 1982. The results suggest the reason why males of other species die faster than females may be the stress and strain of competition, the authors said.

Do the findings have any practical implications for humans? Modern medicine is helping humans live longer than ever before, the researchers note.

"Yet we still don't know what governs maximum life span," Alberts said. "Some human studies suggest we might be able to live a lot longer than we do now. Looking to other primates to understand where we are and aren't flexible in our aging will help answer that question."

Notes:

Citation:
Bronikowski, A., J. Altmann, et al. (2011). "Aging in the natural world: comparative data reveal similar mortality patterns across primates." Science 331(6022).

Study authors (in alphabetical order) and their areas of expertise are:
Susan Alberts (Duke University) - baboons, Kenya
Jeanne Altmann (Princeton University) - baboons, Kenya
Diane Brockman (University of North Carolina-Charlotte) - lemurs, Madagascar
Anne Bronikowski (Iowa State University) - demography and life history
Marina Cords (Columbia University) - blue monkeys, Kenya
Linda Fedigan (University of Calgary) - capuchin monkeys, Costa Rica
William Morris (Duke University) - demographic and ecological analysis
Anne Pusey (Duke University) - chimpanzees, Tanzania
Tara Stoinski (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and Zoo Atlanta) - gorillas, Rwanda
Karen Strier (University of Wisconsin-Madison) - muriqui monkeys, Brazil

Source:
Robin Ann Smith
Duke University

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/218877.php
 
U.S.A. Life Expectancy Up To Number 50; Japan Holds At Fifth Globally
17 Mar 2011

Americans are living longer. Who knew? Life expectancy in the United States has hit another high, rising above 78 years. However, the U.S. still ranks number 50 in the world. Macau tops the world with an average 2011 life expectancy of 89.3 years, and Japan ranks number five at 82.25 years.

The estimate of 78 years and 2 months is for a baby born in 2009. To be gender specific, male life expectancy is roughly 75.5; for females, it is about 80.5 years.

In addition, roughly 2.4 million people died in the United States in 2009, about 36,000 fewer than the year before. Experts do not believe there is one simple explanation for the increase in life expectancy, but better medical treatment, vaccination campaigns and public health measures against smoking are believed to be having an impact.

The infant mortality rate hit a record low of 6.42 deaths per 1,000 live births, a drop of nearly three percent from 2008.

The life expectancy at birth of the world is 67.2 years (65.0 years for males and 69.5 years for females) for 2005 to 2010, according to United Nations World Population Prospects 2006 Revision and 66.57 years (64.52 years for males and 68.76 years for females) for 2009 according to CIA World Factbook 2009.

Many of the countries with the lowest life expectancies, namely Swaziland, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, are suffering from very high rates of HIV/AIDS infection, with adult prevalence rates ranging from 10 to 38.8 percent. In countries with high infant mortality rates, the life expectancy at birth will be lower, and may not reflect the life expectancy of a person who has survived his or her first year of life.

Age-adjusted death rates declined significantly in the U.S. for 10 of the 15 leading causes of death in 2009: heart disease (declined by 3.7 percent), cancer (1.1 percent), chronic lower respiratory diseases (4.1 percent), stroke (4.2 percent), accidents/unintentional injuries (4.1 percent), Alzheimer's disease (4.1 percent), diabetes (4.1 percent), influenza and pneumonia (4.7 percent), septicemia (1.8 percent), and homicide (6.8 percent).

In 2009, suicide passed septicemia (blood poisoning) to become the 10th leading cause of death. Although the U.S. suicide rate did not change significantly between 2008 and 2009, the number of suicides increased from 35,933 in 2008 to 36,547 in 2009 (1.7 percent increase). Deaths from septicemia declined one percent from 35,961 in 2008 to 35,587 in 2009. Otherwise, the rankings for the 15 leading causes of death did not change between 2008 and 2009.

Sources: The Center For Disease Control and Prevention and The Central Intelligence Agency Factbook

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.


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Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219359.php
 
Who'd a thunk it?

Daily trip to the shops 'helps you live longer'
Perhaps it is not the news that hen-pecked husbands would want to hear.
By Stephen Adams 6:30AM BST 07 Apr 2011

But scientists believe that a daily trip to the shops could help you live longer.
A 10-year study of almost 2,000 people found that those who went to the shops more or less every day were about a quarter less likely to die over that period than the average person.
Researchers believe this could be because shopping is a convenient, enjoyable and sociable way of getting exercise.

They looked at the shopping habits of 1,850 people aged 65 and over, living at home without support, who had taken part in a national health survey.
Of those, 17 per cent shopped every day, 22 per cent between two and four times a week, 13 per cent once a week, and 48 per cent even less frequently.

Those who shopped daily were 27 per cent less likely than average to die over the study period, from 1999 to 2008.
And while almost every man has protested at one time or other that "being dragged around the shops is killing me", men appear to benefit from a daily dose of retail therapy more than women.
Female daily shoppers were 23 per cent less likely to die over the decade - but male daily shoppers were 28 per cent less likely to do so.

The study adjusted for factors known to have a significant effect on a person's health - and hence their chance of dying over a particular period - such as age, sex, and whether they smoked, drank, or took exercise.

The authors, from Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes, acknowledged that frequent shopping could simply be a sign of underlying better health, while infrequent shopping could be indicative of impaired mobility and general ill health.
However, in an article published today (THUR) in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they suggest that frequent shopping might have "a direct impact on survival" too.

They write: "Shopping captures several dimensions of personal wellbeing, health, and security as well as contributing to the community's cohesiveness and economy, and may represent or actually confer increased longevity."

Much like teenagers hanging out in a shopping centre, they postulate that for the elderly frequent trips to the shops might not always be about shopping.
They might be about getting out to see one's friends or, indeed, taking a little light exercise too.
They argue: "Elderly people may window shop, obtain prescribed drugs, bank, or walk for exercise, seek companionship and avoid loneliness."

Maureen Hinton, lead analyst at Verdict, a London retail consultancy, thought the study made sense.
She said: "By shopping daily, you are having a regular connection with the community, even if it's just with your local shop keeper."

But what exactly was it about shopping that helped prolong lives, she asked.
"I wonder if it's the exercise - or the enjoyment of buying things."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healt ... onger.html

So excessive drinking is bad for my health - but going to the shops to buy the booze is good!
I make that a score-draw!
8)
 
Could this man help us to live to 1000?
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/fea ... 99236.html
Wed, May 25, 2011

Controversial scientist Aubrey de Grey says some people alive now could live for a millennium. But is he a visionary or merely a showman, writes CLAIRE O'CONNELL

FANCY TRYING to blow out 1,000 candles on your birthday cake? It sounds far-fetched, but there are people alive now who will live for a millennium and perhaps more, according to Dr Aubrey de Grey.

With his long hair and a beard that Rasputin would envy, de Grey cuts a distinctive, articulate and sometimes controversial figure on the media circuit as he explains and defends research into “rejuvenation biotechnologies”.

“Rather than simply slowing ageing down, which is what most people have been focused on, we are interested in reversing ageing,” he explains. “So taking people who are already in middle age or older and [getting them back to] the same state of health as a young adult.”

He will be in Dublin tomorrow to talk about how he thinks science will achieve that.

Originally a computer scientist trained at the University of Cambridge, his interest in ageing was sparked by conversations with his wife, a biologist.

De Grey (48) switched his research focus a decade ago and is now chief science officer at the Sens Foundation, a charity set up to look at aspects of ageing and rejuvenation by working university researchers or at its centre in California.

So how do you reverse ageing? The basis of de Grey’s argument is that our metabolism, that complex biochemical orchestra that keeps our bodies running, has side effects that cause damage in the long term.

“The big insight that governs our work is that we can classify these many different types of damage into just seven major categories,” he says. “And within each category, there is a particular approach that seems promising to not simply slow it down but repair the damage, so we have less of it than we had before the therapy was started.”

Those approaches include: replacing useful cells that have disappeared; removing cells that are no longer useful or whose presence is causing harm; destroying junk that builds up inside or outside cells; breaking up rigid connections that cause tissue stiffness; and overcoming problems such as cancer or cell damage that are associated with mutations in DNA.

The research is at a basic stage, and therapies for use on humans are decades away, according to de Grey. He considers the theme that looks to tackle junk that accumulates between cells to be the most advanced.

That’s an area being looked at by Dr Brian O’Nuallain, who has just left University College Dublin for Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is starting work on a Sens-funded project into an age-associated condition called senile systemic amyloidosis.

One aim is to develop an antibody that will pick up when a protein called transthyretin clumps abnormally in heart tissue, which can lead to organ failure. Being able to diagnose this early would maximise the beneficial effects of future therapies for the incurable condition, says O’Nuallain. This area of research has raised eyebrows, and O’Nuallain is also sceptical.

“However I presume that future advances in medical research over the next few decades should prolong our lives by a decade,” he says.

But what about centuries? De Grey has drawn sharp criticism in the past and, while he says his work in bringing biologists and gerontologists together has lessened the scepticism, it hasn’t entirely gone away.

“This idea of living to 1,000 is a bit unlikely,” says immunologist Prof Luke O’Neill, professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, though he notes that the prospect of using pharmaceuticals to extend lifespan has been shown in mice, where an immune suppressant drug can support them living for longer.

“The question then becomes what is the limit for human life. There could be a natural biological limit and no matter what you do, you might never get beyond that unless, of course, you replace each part of the body as it ages with a new part.”

Prof Des O’Neill, a consultant physician in geriatric and stroke medicine at Tallaght Hospital, describes de Grey as being seen more as a showman than a visionary, and says that his narrative could contribute to ageism.

Other experts point to the challenges of rejuvenation; question the biological value of vastly increased lifespans; and express concern over the potential ethical issues involved in bringing such therapies through human clinical trials if carried out in poorly regulated developing countries.

De Grey argues for the need to plough ahead with the science. “We are wasting time and we are costing lives by not prioritising this research,” he says.

Aubrey de Grey is speaking as part of the HUMAN+ exhibition at the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin, tomorrow at 6pm. Tickets are available from sciencegallery.com.
 
To state the obvious, 130 is pretty old. It makes me wonder, does anyone know of an older living creature, Giant Tortoise or otherwise? It's likely that creatures in captivity would survive longer than those in the wild, but perhaps the Galapagos' enclosed eco-system is an exception to this trend.

I suspect this big chap wasn't always called Methuselah.

tortoise_custom.jpg


Methuselah, A Well-Loved Tortoise, Dies At 130 In South Dakota

06:49 pm; July 12, 2011 - by Bill Chappell

Methuselah, a giant tortoise whose life began in the Galapagos Islands 130 years ago, has died in Rapid City, S.D. Since 1954, the huge animal has been a star attraction at Reptile Gardens, where officials estimate that he posed for photographs with tens of thousands of visitors, many of them children.

Methuselah began his life in 1881. Here's a sampling of what else was going on that year:

James Garfield became president.
Billy the Kid escaped from jail and was killed by Pat Garrett in New Mexico.
The American Red Cross was established.
The O.K. Corral gunfight took place in Tombstone, Arizona.

According to the AP, park officials commonly heard grandparents telling their grandchildren about their own visits to see Methuselah when they were young.

Park public relations director John Brockelsby said that he first met the tortoise when he was three years old.

"My favorite memories are when I rode him as a child and when I would scratch his neck and under his chin," he told the Rapid City Journal. "Also, feeding him watermelon – his favorite – was always a lot of fun, because if there was ever a chance to see pleasure on a tortoise's face, it was then. He just loved it."

The 500-pound tortoise had more watermelon last month, when the park threw a party for his birthday. His 130 years represent a long life, even by giant tortoise standards.

After Methuselah's arrival at the park at age 73, children were allowed to ride on the tortoise's back — a practice that became forbidden over the years. And park officials say that in the past 10 days, Methuselah had shown signs that he might not live for much longer.

Brockelsby tells the AP that Reptile Gardens will build a memorial to Methuselah. He said of the giant tortoise, "losing him is like losing an old, good friend."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... ta?ps=cprs
 
How do you tell if a giant tortoise is dead? Do they hibernate like the little versions? Can you take its pulse? Obviously it would start to decompose eventually, but if I were a 130-year-old tortoise I'd be worried that someone might bury me when I was just having a long nap.
 
Scientists discover the secret to a long life... but it's only your dog that will benefit
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 7:53 AM on 18th July 2011

A team of scientists claims that it may have the secret to a longer life - but so far the treatment is only suitable for pets.
The potential cure for age is a drug which protects telomeres, sections of DNA long thought to be the key to the ageing process.
However, the treatment is not yet considered safe for humans, and may first be tested on dogs and cats by being added to pet food.

Scientists think that ageing is caused by the telomeres in our genes shortening over the course of our lifetime.
Now an American research team thinks it has found a way to slow or even reverse this shrinkage, according to the Sunday Times. This could theoretically lengthen our lifespan.

The team is led by Bill Andrews, a scientist based in Nevada who is the founder of Sierra Sciences. He made his name by helping to discover telomerase, an enzyme which apparently reverses the ageing process.
Dr Andrews founded his company in order to find a way to induce cells to produce telomerase and protect themselves from decay.

The new findings, which will be presented in August at a conference in Cambridge, suggest that nearly 40 different substances could contribute to the production of this enzyme.
'Inducing cells to produce telomerase would be a great medical advance,' Dr Andrews said.
'The substances we have found can achieve this but we have to be cautious and there is no chance of getting medical approval for human use for some years.
'For pets, however, the rules are much less stringent - and the market is potentially huge.'

The market for pet medicine has grown quickly over the last few years, and Britons now spend over £800 million per year on drugs for their 16 million cats and dogs.

...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... z1SRazokPp
 
'Predict your death' longevity paper retracted
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/short ... paper.html
17:53 25 July 2011
Health
Science In Society
Andrew Purcell, contributor

A controversial Science paper that claimed to have found the key to predicting human longevity has now been retracted by its authors.

In the paper, Paola Sebastiani and Thomas Perls of Boston University, Massachusetts, and colleagues reported 150 genetic variations that could be used to predict whether a person was likely to live to 100 years.

The retraction follows quality control measures by an independent laboratory. In the retraction notice, Sebastiani explains: "We feel the main scientific findings remain supported by the available data...However, the specific details of the new analysis change substantially from those originally published online."

According to an accompanying statement published in Science :

Although the authors remain confident about their findings, Science has concluded on the basis of peer-review that a paper built on the corrected data would not meet the journal's standards for genome-wide association studies... The authors have therefore agreed to retract their paper

Criticism of the paper began to surface within days of its publication. It focused on the researchers' use of different types of genome scanning technologies to analyse different data groups, a technical inconsistency that could lead to erroneous positive results. Science took the unusual step of publishing an editorial last November highlighting a number of concerns with the article.

Academics have expressed particular concern at the researchers' underlying assumption that longevity is a simple genetic trait, controlled by a relatively small number of genes. Previous research had suggested that environmental factors are the overwhelming determinant of how long a person is likely to live.

Despite these concerns, Science makes it clear that there was no misconduct by Sebastiani and her colleagues: "The researchers worked exhaustively to correct the errors in the original paper and we regret that the outcome of the extensive revision and re-review process was not more favourable." Sebastiani and her team now intend to seek alternative publication of their amended findings.
 
Re: Vampires Live Longer

Heckler20 said:
Vampires live longer: official
By Lester Haines
Published Thursday 17th February 2005 14:53 GMT

Scientists at Stanford University have confirmed what Vlad Dracul knew all along: a refreshing dose of young blood can put the spring back into your step.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/17 ... ve_longer/
But I think this dealer has his tongue in his cheek with this claim:

Is Nicolas Cage immortal? Actor's amazing Civil War doppelganger posted on eBay ... and it's yours for only $1million
By Mark Duell
Last updated at 10:50 PM on 17th September 2011

The antique dealer jokes that his photo is proof Nicholas Cage is more than just an a-list actor - he’s also a vampire who lived during the American Civil War.
An eBay seller claims to have a 4” by 2.5” carte de visite photo from around 1870 of a man who looks exactly like the 47-year-old star of Con Air, Ghost Rider and The Rock.
The seller, who has put the starting price at $1million, says the photo is 100 per cent genuine and was taken of a man who lived in Bristol, Tennessee, around the time of the Civil War.

The man who put the photo on eBay is Jack Mörd, of Seattle, Washington, whose Facebook page says he is originally from Los Angeles, California, and owns ‘The Thanatos Archive’.
'My theory is that he allows himself to age to a certain point, maybe 70, 80 or so, then the actor “Nicolas Cage” will “die”,’ Mr Mörd joked.
‘But in reality, the undead vampire “Nicolas Cage” will have rejuvenated himself and appeared in some other part of the world, young again, and ready to start all over.’

The picture was found in the back of an album that contained many unusual death portraits from the Civil War era - but the Nicholas Cage lookalike was not identified by name, Mr Mörd said.
He has a 100 per cent positive feedback rating on eBay and his profile says he is interested in collecting and selling Victorian Era post-mortem photography, as well as other vintage pictures.
The eBay product description for ‘Nicolas Cage is a Vampire / Photo from 1870 / Tennessee’ says: ‘Original c.1870 carte de visit showing a man who looks exactly like Nick Cage.
‘This is not a trick photo of any kind and has not been manipulated in Photoshop or any other graphics program.
'It's an original photo of a man who lived in Bristol, TN, sometime around the Civil War.'
It is believed the photo was taken by a confederate Civil War prisoner of war photographer called Professor G.B. Smith.

Mr Mörd joked that Nicholas Cage could be a walking undead man who reinvents himself once every 75 years - and might be looking at going into politics or talk show hosting next.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1YIxWEdND
 
Mr Cage played a vampire (of sorts) in Vampire's Kiss. The one where he actually ate a cockroach on camera. Maybe he was drawing on his centuries of experience?
 
35% of babies today may live to 100, but age will bring its trials
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/wor ... 54214.html
SAM JONES and MAEV KENNEDY

Tue, Mar 27, 2012

MORE THAN a third of the babies born in Britain this year could receive a 100th birthday message from whoever happens to be on the throne in the second decade of the 22nd century, according to figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. The office forecasts that 35 per cent of the 826,000 people born in 2012 will live to become centenarians.

In its latest report, entitled What are the Chances of Surviving to Age 100?, the office examines the births of 423,000 boys and 403,000 girls this year. It estimates that 135,000 of the boys and 156,000 of the girls could still be alive in 2112.

A long life is not unalloyed good news. David Sinclair, head of policy and research at the International Longevity Centre UK, warned that for many the future might mean social isolation as they outlive friends and family, physical isolation as they are trapped in unsuitable housing, and poor health.

“It is of course good news that so many more people are living longer,” he said, “but there is a big but. In many ways, today’s centenarians are unrepresentative. They are people who have escaped cancer, heart attack and stroke and so they are actually healthier than many people younger than them. Now that we are getting so much better at keeping people alive, that will no longer be the case. We will be older, but in worse health, and at high risk of living alone in unsuitable accommodation.

“The other problem is that we are very poor at forward planning. We deal with the problems that are under our noses . . . When you’re talking about forecasts for a time half a century away and more, I see no evidence that we are putting in place the measures.”

The news for those turning 65 this year hoping to make it to the same milestone is less heartening: only 10 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women born in 1947 will make it to 100. Women have higher life expectancies at every age; the estimated number of female centenarians has risen from 500 in 1961 to more than 10,000 in 2010.
 
Equality at last.

Men set to live as long as women, figures show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17811732
By James Gallagher
Health and science reporter, BBC News

Men could be living as long as women

Related Stories

Can we live forever?
UK life expectancy 'on the rise'
Third of babies 'to live to 100'

The gap between male and female life expectancy is closing and men could catch up by 2030, according to an adviser for the Office for National Statistics.

Prof Les Mayhew said the difference between the sexes peaked at nearly six years in the 1970s.

Life expectancy is going up all round, but the rates for men are increasing faster.

Plummeting smoking rates in men are thought to explain a lot of the change.

Prof Mayhew, a professor of statistics at Cass Business School, analysed life expectancy data in England and Wales. He was working out how long 30-year-olds could expect to live.

Heart disease
His findings show men languishing far behind for decades, but now starting to get closer to women. If current trends continue, Prof Mayhew predicts, both sexes could, on average, be living to the age of 87 in 2030.


He said: "What's interesting at the moment is that in the last 20 years or so, male life expectancy at 30 has jumped by about six years and if it jumps by the same amount in the next 20 years it will converge with female life expectancy."

The reason could be down to men living a healthier lifestyle. "One of the main reasons, I think, is the trend in the prevalence of smoking. Smoking took off after 1920 in the male population and at its high about 80% of males smoked.


Fewer male smokers may be boosting overall life expectancy
"This was reflected in more divergence in the life expectancy, so by the time you get to about 1970 it was at its peak - the difference in life expectancy was about 5.7 years."

Other factors are thought to be safer, more office-based, jobs. Millions of men used to work in hazardous occupations such as coal mining. Healthcare has meant more men live longer as well. People with heart disease, which is more common in men, can expect to live much longer than they did a few decades ago.

By contrast, women started smoking later than men. Rates of lung cancer are still increasing in women, but are falling fast in men.

A boy and a girl born on the same day will still not have the same life expectancies, as the study looked only at people who had already reached 30. Boys are more likely to die in their first year of life and are more likely to take up dangerous sports or be involved in fatal accidents.

Continue reading the main story

Start Quote

Men are getting a bit better behaved”

Prof David Leon
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
It means that women could still have the edge for some time to come.

Global pattern
Prof David Leon, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "In virtually all countries in the world, women do have a slight advantage."

However, he said the gap was definitely closing in some countries.

Countries with lower levels of life expectancy, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, showed very little difference between the genders. This was due to the prevalence of infectious diseases which "are not picky about men and women", he said.

In countries that had defeated most infectious diseases, such as in Eastern Europe, "there is a much bigger difference, mostly dominated by lifestyle factors".

At one point in the 1990s, the gap between life expectancies in Russia reached 13 years. Prof Leon said it was an "absolutely massive" difference in a "very gendered society".

In his third class of countries, such as the UK, the gap in life expectancies is starting to narrow.

He said: "Men are getting a bit better behaved and women are adopting male life expectancies."
 
Olympian lifespan 'possible for all'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20710388

Cyclists were among the athletes who enjoyed the best health

Male manual workers 'live longer'
The longevity Olympians enjoy is within the reach of everyone, experts say.

Research published on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website suggests athletes live 2.8 years longer on average than the average lifespan.

The research indicated those who took part in non-contact sports such as cycling, rowing and tennis enjoyed the longest life of all.

But the general population could have a similar "survival advantage" by doing a little more exercise, experts said.

The conclusion by two public health professors came after they reviewed two studies of Olympic athletes published by the BMJ website.

The studies looked at the lifespan and health of 25,000 athletes who competed in Games dating back to 1896.

Those taking part in contact sports such as boxing had the least advantage, while cyclists and rowers enjoyed the best health.

But the researchers also found those who played lower intensity sports such as golf enjoyed a boost.

'Public health failure'
Possible explanations put forward for the finding included genetic and lifestyle factors and the wealth and status that comes with sporting success.

However, the findings prompted public health experts Prof Adrian Bauman, from Australia's Sydney University, and Prof Steven Blair, from South Carolina University in the US, to suggest others could live as long as Olympic athletes.

The recommended level of physical activity for adults is 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week.

Studies suggest people who manage that amount or more live for up to several years longer than those that do not.

Writing for the BMJ website, the professors said: "Although the evidence points to a small survival effect of being an Olympian, careful reflection suggests that similar health benefits and longevity could be achieved by all of us through regular physical activity.

"We could and should all award ourselves that personal gold medal."

But they said governments were still not doing enough to promote the benefits of physical activity, calling it a "public health failure".
 
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