Who Wants to Live Forever? Reader’S Digest
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HEALTH Who Wantsto Live Forever? As a species, we humans appear to be the undisputed masters of our planet. Moreover, since Yuri Gagarin’s inaugural space flight in 1961, we can even leave the confines of Earth to travel in space. Yet, we have one Achilles’ heel—we’re mortal BY CHRIS MENON 1234567890 1234567890 36 BRAIN LIGHT/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? READEr’s DIGEST T 122 YEARS, THE MAXIMUM HUMAN LIFESPAN lags well behind some species of giant tortoise (188 years), Greenland shark (400 years) and the record set by the lowly Icelandic clam (507 years). Even those relatively few humans who do manage to make it past 100—some 14,570 people in the UK in 2015—are invariably bedeviled byA poor health. Recently, efforts to extend the healthy of Amazon, has similarly invested human lifespan have achieved much in Unity Biotechnology, which aims publicity following the backing of “to design therapeutics that prevent, visionary, super-rich Silicon Valley halt, or reverse diseases of ageing”. tech entrepreneurs. In 2013, Google’s Unity intends to develop a new founders created a subsidiary class of therapies called “senolytic company called Calico (short for medicines”, designed to selectively the California Life Company), eliminate senescent cells. Senescent Billionaire researchers, which promptly hired a team of top cells accumulate with age and, Some believe that death, Arthur Levinson, Jeff technologies that scientists and now has more than unlike normal cells, they secrete like any disease, can be Bezos and Elon Musk the SENS Research £1bn in the bank to fund its work. inflammatory molecules that harm cured, while others seek Foundation is pursuing Its CEO, Arthur Levinson (who’s also neighbouring cells and tissues, to develop drugs that will have a good chance of LAMY STOCK PHOTO LAMY STOCK chairman of Apple), has stated, “Our causing osteoarthritis, glaucoma, A provide an incremental increase in becoming comprehensive enough to goal is to make progress on a very and atherosclerosis. healthy lifespans. merit being described as a solution basic challenge—how to help people Not to be outdone by his fellow to ageing within about 20 years. MMRICH/ stay healthier for longer.” Silicon Valley billionaires, Elon E IN THE US, THE SENS RESEARCH However, I need to stress that that A D FOUNDATION Calico have ignored our requests Musk, co-founder of Paypal and B aims to discover depends on financial support.” for more information about this the mastermind behind Tesla, has ways to fix or undo the damage the Considered by many as an /BO research. Yet in March it partnered launched the medical research E body automatically does to itself “immortalist”, when asked if life with C4 Therapeutics to use the company, Neuralink. It intends to over time. For example, it’s currently beyond 1,000 is a possibility, de Grey latter’s technology platform to eventually enhance human brains by addressing age-related hypertension contends, “There’s honestly no limit. ALLIANC E develop small-molecule drugs. These connecting them with computers so R by developing enzymes that can break If anything, 1,000 years is drugs are designed to direct a specific that thoughts—maybe even human U the accumulating chemical bonds conservative. The point is that ICT mechanism in our cells, enabling consciousness—can be uploaded P that make our major arteries stiffer, the body’s a machine—periodic A them to selectively degrade disease- and downloaded. This might P as well as identifying ways to kill preventative maintenance, once we’ve causing proteins—thus lessening eventually provide humans with a NC./D particularly dangerous cancers. developed the tools, will be just as I incidences of Alzheimer’s, cancer form of virtual immortality. , Its chief science officer, Aubrey effective in maintaining it indefinitely and inflammatory conditions such However, even among scientists, ess de Grey, is optimistic about the at full performance as we can already as rheumatoid arthritis. opinions differ greatly as to what is PR prospects for curing ageing. “I think do for a vintage car or aeroplane.” MA Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder feasible and the likely time scales. ZU the damage-repair rejuvenation Dr. João Pedro de Magalhães, 1234567890 1234567890 38 | 10•2017 10•2017 | 39 | WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? associate professor in ageing at Research at The Albert Einstein Lifespan is simply Liverpool University, accepts the College of Medicine in New York, a side effect,” theoretical possibility that ageing who strives to improve healthspan, enthuses Barzlai. can be cured. “Ageing is surprisingly not lifespan. “My goal is to delay He adds, “That plastic in the sense that it can be ageing, to make 80 the new 60—not doesn’t mean that in manipulated by genes, evolution to live to be 800. Aubrey wants to the future we cannot and diet.” Although he be something more extend life, or even believes those tools dramatic, he wants to start thinking about are still never die. Aubrey de it sooner. But this is SENS Research a long time away. Grey is a little bit different Foundation Chief “At the current rate of an immortalist.” technologically— Science Officer, progress radical life Next year, Barzlai, and even if you can Aubrey de Grey, extension will take who discovered replace cells and the addresses the 2015 Open Innovations centuries,” he admits. longevity genes in brain with new cells, Forum and Yet, de Magalhães centenarians, is to well, your memory Technology Show at does believe launch the first trial of is going to go. So the VDNKh incremental increases Even if you can an anti-ageing drug who are you in this Exhibition Centre are more likely. “In replace cells in with the approval of new body? There are species such as mice, the US Food and Drug lots of ethical and drugs have been the brain with Administration. The biological issues.” evidence to suggest that smoking, shown to have five to new cells, your medicine in question In such a scenario one has to drinking and a sedentary lifestyle 20 per cent longevity memory is is an old drug for wonder what would happen to can shorten your life. For example, benefits—although going to go. So type-2 diabetes called our fundamental sense of self. Would according to Cancer Research UK, these will likely be metformin, which acts it undergo a transformation as smoking causes 28 per cent of cancer lower in humans. who are you in on the mitochondria, profound as the physical one? There deaths in the UK. Yet retarding human this new body? the cellular power are many unknowns. Rather than focusing on radically ageing, even by a small plants. Metformin has improving lifespan, Friedman’s focus degree, would still have been shown to affect the ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOrs ARE is on how to stop so many people a big impact on human health and receptors for particular biochemical ALSO IMPORTANT for longevity, as from becoming ill in their 50s, 60s life—I’m convinced that longevity pathways that are associated with Howard Friedman, distinguished and early 70s—and to help most drugs will become widespread in longevity. professor in the psychology people thrive into their 80s and even LAMY STOCK PHOTO LAMY STOCK the next 20 years.” For example, a “I think that maximal lifespan is A department at the University of 90s. A shift in attitude is required drug might be taken daily for life as a about 115 [based on global lifespan NCY/ California, explains. “Genes account in order to create a world in which E G preventative measure to ward off the data trends] which means we have A for about a quarter of the variation in more effort is spent to encourage possibility of developing cancer. a lot of potential as the average age longevity [in a given population]. The people to take preventative measures Another scientist even more of death in the western world is rest is environmental/behavioural and assume more responsibility for sceptical of Aubrey de Grey’s currently around 80. Please note that PHOTO SS factors and chance.” their health, instead of being passive TA grandiose visions is Dr Nir Barzilai, I’m concerned with how we expand - Indeed, our lifestyle choices affect recipients of medical procedures. director of the Institute for Ageing the healthspan of our population. ITAR ageing and there’s ample medical According to Friedman, “Taking it 1234567890 1234567890 40 | 10•2017 10•2017 | 41 | WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? READEr’s DIGEST easy is not usually a path to put male life expectancy in the Calton collective wisdom of humanity. HOW TO LIVE LONGER good health or a long life. district of Glasgow at 54. Eight miles Dr George Leeson, director of the “Well over half of the away in the affluent Lenzie, the Oxford Institute of Population Professor Howard variation in longevity is due corresponding figure is 82. And the Ageing, explains, “Life expectancy Friedman is author of The to how you live. That is, genes reason for the discrepancy? Poverty.” today is 80 years. Let’s say it goes up Longevity Project, which do matter but not as much as One dystopian future ushered in to 110 over the next 100 years—that’s studied 1,500 Californian most people assume.” by medical science a 30 year increase, children from 1921 for 90 might be one in which which is not unlikely. years. He shares seven tips PROFEssOR JOHN power and wealth have That’s exactly the sort for a long, healthy life: NAUGHTON, a senior been concentrated in of increase we’ve had 1. Develop good social research fellow at Cambridge the hands of a super- over the past 100 years.