Category Archives: Human Longevity

How long did humans live in the past? We often hear statistics about the average lifespan of people living hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. Were our ancestors really dying at the age of 30 or 40 back then?Heres a little primer on longevity throughout history to help you understand how life expectancy and life spans have changed over time.

The term life expectancy means the average lifespan of an entire population, taking into account all mortality figures for that specific group of people.

Lifespan is a measure of the actual length of an individuals life. While both terms seem straightforward, a lack of historical artifacts and records have made it challenging for researchers to determine how lifespans have evolved throughout history.

Until fairly recently, little information existed about how long prehistoric people lived. Too few fossilized human remains made it difficult for historians to estimate the demographics of any population. Anthropology professors Rachel Caspari and Sang-Hee Lee, ofCentral Michigan University and the University of California at Riverside, respectively, chose instead to analyze the relative ages of skeletons found in archeological digs in eastern and southern Africa, Europe and elsewhere.

After comparing the proportion of those who died young with those who died at an older age, the team concluded that longevity only began to significantly increase - that is, past the age of 30 or so - about 30,000 years ago, which is quite late in the span of human evolution.

In an article published in 2011 in Scientific American, Caspari calls the shift the evolution of grandparents," as it marks the first time in human history that three generations might have co-existed.

Life expectancy estimates that describe the population as a whole also suffer from a lack of reliable evidence gathered from these periods.

In a 2010 article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences gerontologist and evolutionary biologist, Caleb Finch describes the average life spans inancient Greek and Roman times as short: approximately of 20 to 35 years, though he laments these numbers are based on notoriously unrepresentative graveyard epitaphs and samples.

Moving forward along the historic timeline, Finch lists the challenges of deducing historic life spans and causes of death in this information vacuum. As a kind of research compromise, he and other evolution experts suggest a reasonable comparison can be made with demographic data that does exist from pre-industrial Sweden (mid-18th century) and certain contemporary, small, hunter-gatherer societies in countries like Venezuela and Brazil.

Finch writes that judging by this data the main causes of death during these early centuries would most certainly have been infections, whether from infectious diseases or infected wounds resulting from accidents or fighting.

Unhygienic living conditions and little access to effective medical care meant life expectancy was likely limited to about 35 years of age.

Thats life expectancy at birth, a figure dramatically influenced by infant mortality-pegged at the time as high as 30 percent. It does not mean that the average person living in 1200 A.D. died at the age of 35. Rather, for every child that died in infancy, another person might have lived to see their 70th birthday. Early years up to the age of about 15 continued to be perilous, thanks to risks posed by disease, injuries, and accidents. People who survived this hazardous period of life could well make it into old age.

Other infectious diseases like cholera, tuberculosis and smallpox would go on to limit longevity, but none on a scale quite as damaging of the bubonic plague in the 14th century. The Black Plague moved through Asia and Europe, and wiped out as much as a third of Europes population, temporarily shifting life expectancy downward.

From the 1500s onward, till around the year 1800, life expectancy throughout Europe hovered between 30 and 40 years of age. Since the early 1800s, Finch writes that life expectancy at birth has doubled in a period of only 10 or so generations. Improved health care, sanitation, immunizations, access to clean, running water and better nutrition are all credited with the massive increase.

Though its hard to imagine, researcher Elaine Larson describes in The American Journal of Public Health that doctors only began regularly washing their hands before surgery in the mid-1800s. A better understanding of hygiene and the transmission of microbes has since contributed substantially to public health. Disease was still common, however, and impacted life expectancy. Parasites, typhoid, and infections like rheumatic feverand scarlet feverwere all common during the 1800s.

Even as recently as 1921, countries like Canada still had an infant mortality rate of about 10 percent, meaning one out of every 10 babies did not survive. According to Statistics Canada, this meant a life expectancyoraverage survival rate in that country that was higher at age one than at birth - a condition that persisted right until the early 1980s.

Today most industrialized countries boast life expectancy figures of more than 75 years, according to comparisons compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Some researchers have predicted that lifestyle factors like obesity will halt or even reverse the rise in life expectancy for the first time in modern history. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005, epidemiologists warned that in the United States - where two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese - obesity and its complications, like diabetes,could very well reduce life expectancy at all ages in the first half of 21st century.

In the meantime, rising life expectancy in the West brings both good and bad news: its nice to be living longer, but we are now more vulnerable to the types of illnesses that hit as you get older. These age-related diseasesinclude coronary artery disease, certain cancers, diabetes, and dementia.

Still, while they can affect quantity and quality of life, many of these conditions can be prevented or at least delayed through healthy lifestyle choices like following an anti-aging diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularlyand keeping stress hormones like cortisol at bay.

Sources:

Caleb E. Finch. Evolution of the human lifespan and diseases of aging: Roles of infection, inflammation, and nutrition. PNAS, January 26, 2010, vol. 107, Pages 1718-1724. http://evmedreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/PNAS-EvMedIssueComplete-pages-1691-1799-2010.pdf

Caspari, R. The Evolution of Grandparents. Scientific American. 2011 vol:305 iss:2 pg:44 -9.

Caspari, R and Lee SH. Is Human Longevity a Consequence of Cultural Change or Modern Biology? Am J Phys Anthropol(2006) 129:512-517 http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~shlee/Publications/06%20OY%20W%20As%20(AJPA).pdf

Country Comparison: Life Expectancy at Birth. US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Public Information Sheet. Accessed September 17, 2012. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html

E Larson. Innovations in health care: antisepsis as a case study. Am J Public Health. 1989 January; 79(1): 9299. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1349481/,/p>

Griffin JP. Changing life expectancy throughout history. Int Pharm J 1995. 9:199202.

Gurven, M. and Kaplan H. Hunter-Gatherer Longevity: A Cross-Cultural Examination. Population and Development Review. 2007. Volume 33, Issue 2, 321-365.

Health at a Glance: Disparities in Life Expectancy at Birth. Statistics Canada Public Information Sheet. Accessed Sept.13, 2012. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2011001/article/11427-eng.htm

H. Beltran-Sanchez, E. M. Crimmins and C. E. Finch. Early cohort mortality predicts the rate of aging in the cohort: a historical analysis. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 05/2012, pp. 1 7.

S. Jay Olshansky, Douglas J. Passaro, Ronald C. Hershow, Jennifer Layden, Bruce A. Carnes, Jacob Brody, Leonard Hayflick, Robert N. Butler, David B. Allison, and David S. Ludwig. A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century. N Engl J Med 2005; 352:1138-1145 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr043743#t=artic

Continue reading here:
History of Longevity - Life Expectancy in 1800 to Today

Maximum life span is a measure of the maximum amount of time one or more members of a population have been observed to survive between birth and death. The term can also denote an estimate of the maximum amount of time that a member of a given species could survive between life and death, provided circumstances that are optimal to that member's longevity.

Most living species have at least one upper limit on the number of times cells can divide. This is called the Hayflick limit, although number of cell divisions does not strictly control lifespan (non-dividing cells and dividing cells lived over 122 years in the oldest known human).

In animal studies, maximum span is often taken to be the mean life span of the most long-lived 10% of a given cohort. By another definition, however, maximum life span corresponds to the age at which the oldest known member of a species or experimental group has died. Calculation of the maximum life span in the latter sense depends upon initial sample size.[1]

Maximum life span contrasts with mean life span (average life span, life expectancy), and longevity. Mean life span varies with susceptibility to disease, accident, suicide and homicide, whereas maximum life span is determined by "rate of aging".[2] Longevity refers only to the characteristics of the especially long lived members of a population, such as infirmities as they age or compression of morbidity, and not the specific life span of an individual.

The longest-living person whose dates of birth and death were verified to the modern norms of Guinness World Records and the Gerontology Research Group was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to 122. Reduction of infant mortality has accounted for most of the increased average life span longevity, but since the 1960s mortality rates among those over 80 years have decreased by about 1.5% per year. "The progress being made in lengthening lifespans and postponing senescence is entirely due to medical and public-health efforts, rising standards of living, better education, healthier nutrition and more salubrious lifestyles."[3] Animal studies suggest that further lengthening of human lifespan could be achieved through "calorie restriction mimetic" drugs or by directly reducing food consumption. Although calorie restriction has not been proven to extend the maximum human life span, as of 2014, results in ongoing primate studies have demonstrated that the assumptions derived from rodents are valid in primates as well [Reference: Nature 01.04.2014].[4]

No fixed theoretical limit to human longevity is apparent today.[5] "A fundamental question in aging research is whether humans and other species possess an immutable life-span limit."[6] "The assumption that the maximum human life span is fixed has been justified, [but] is invalid in a number of animal models and ... may become invalid for humans as well."[7] Studies in the biodemography of human longevity indicate a late-life mortality deceleration law: that death rates level off at advanced ages to a late-life mortality plateau. That is, there is no fixed upper limit to human longevity, or fixed maximal human lifespan.[8] This law was first quantified in 1939, when researchers found that the one-year probability of death at advanced age asymptotically approaches a limit of 44% for women and 54% for men.[9]

It has also been observed that the VO2max value (a measure of the volume of oxygen flow to the cardiac muscle) decreases as a function of age. Therefore, the maximum lifespan of an individual can be determined by calculating when his or her VO2max value drops below the basal metabolic rate necessary to sustain life - approximately 3 ml per kg per minute.[10] Noakes (p.84) notes that, on the basis of this hypothesis, athletes with a VO2max value between 50 and 60 at age 20 can be expected "to live for 100 to 125 years, provided they maintained their physical activity so that their rate of decline in VO2max remained constant."

A theoretical study suggested the maximum human lifespan to be around 125 years using a modified stretched exponential function for human survival curves.[11]

Small animals such as birds and squirrels rarely live to their maximum life span, usually dying of accidents, disease or predation. Grazing animals accumulate wear and tear to their teeth to the point where they can no longer eat, and they die of starvation.[citation needed]

The maximum life span of most species has not been accurately determined, because the data collection has been minimal and the number of species studied in captivity (or by monitoring in the wild) has been small.[citation needed]

Maximum life span is usually longer for species that are larger or have effective defenses against predation, such as bird flight, tortoise shells, porcupine quills, or large primate brains.

The differences in life span between species demonstrate the role of genetics in determining maximum life span ("rate of aging"). The records (in years) are these:

The longest-lived vertebrates have been variously described as

With the possible exception of the Bowhead whale, the claims of lifespans >100 year rely on conjecture (e.g. counting otoliths) rather than empirical, continuous documentation.[citation needed]

Invertebrate species which continue to grow as long as they live (e.g., certain clams, some coral species) can on occasion live hundreds of years:

Plants are referred to as annuals which live only one year, biennials which live two years, and perennials which live longer than that. The longest-lived perennials, woody-stemmed plants such as trees and bushes, often live for hundreds and even thousands of years (one may question whether or not they may die of old age). A giant sequoia, General Sherman is alive and well in its third millennium. A Great Basin Bristlecone Pine called Methuselah is 4,845 years old (as of 2014) and the Bristlecone Pine called Prometheus was a little older still, at least 4,844 years (and possibly as old as 5,000 years), when it was cut down in 1964. The oldest known plant (possibly oldest living thing) is a clonal Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree colony in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah called Pando at about 80,000 years.

"Maximum life span" here means the mean life span of the most long-lived 10% of a given cohort. Caloric restriction has not yet been shown to break mammalian world records for longevity. Rats, mice, and hamsters experience maximum life-span extension from a diet that contains all of the nutrients but only 4060% of the calories that the animals consume when they can eat as much as they want. Mean life span is increased 65% and maximum life span is increased 50%, when caloric restriction is begun just before puberty.[37] For fruit flies the life extending benefits of calorie restriction are gained immediately at any age upon beginning calorie restriction and ended immediately at any age upon resuming full feeding.[38]

A few transgenic strains of mice have been created that have maximum life spans greater than that of wild-type or laboratory mice. The Ames and Snell mice, which have mutations in pituitary transcription factors and hence are deficient in Gh, LH, TSH, and secondarily IGF1, have extensions in maximal lifespan of up to 65%. To date, both in absolute and relative terms, these Ames and Snell mice have the maximum lifespan of any mouse not on caloric restriction (see below on GhR). Mutations/knockout of other genes affecting the GH/IGF1 axis, such as Lit, Ghr and Irs1 have also shown extension in lifespan, but much more modest both in relative and absolute terms. The longest lived laboratory mouse ever was a Ghr knockout mouse on caloric restriction, which lived to ~1800 days in the lab of Andrzej Bartke at Southern Illinois University. The maximum for normal B6 mice under ideal conditions is 1200 days.

Most biomedical gerontologists believe that biomedical molecular engineering will eventually extend maximum lifespan and even bring about rejuvenation.[citation needed]Anti-aging drugs are a potential tool for extending life.[39]

Aubrey de Grey, a theoretical gerontologist, has proposed that aging can be reversed by Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. De Grey has established The Methuselah Mouse Prize to award money to researchers who can extend the maximum life span of mice. So far, three Mouse Prizes have been awarded: one for breaking longevity records to Dr. Andrzej Bartke of Southern Illinois University (using GhR knockout mice); one for late-onset rejuvenation strategies to Dr. Stephen Spindler of the University of California (using caloric restriction initiated late in life); and one to Dr. Z. Dave Sharp for his work with the pharmaceutical rapamycin.[40]

Accumulated DNA damage appears to be a limiting factor in the determination of maximum life span. The theory that DNA damage is the primary cause of aging, and thus a principal determinant of maximum life span, has attracted increased interest in recent years. This is based, in part, on evidence in human and mouse that inherited deficiencies in DNA repair genes often cause accelerated aging.[41][42][43] There is also substantial evidence that DNA damage accumulates with age in mammalian tissues, such as those of the brain, muscle, liver and kidney (reviewed by Bernstein et al.[44] and see DNA damage theory of aging and DNA damage (naturally occurring)). One expectation of the theory (that DNA damage is the primary cause of aging) is that among species with differing maximum life spans, the capacity to repair DNA damage should correlate with lifespan. The first experimental test of this idea was by Hart and Setlow[45] who measured the capacity of cells from seven different mammalian species to carry out DNA repair. They found that nucleotide excision repair capability increased systematically with species longevity. This correlation was striking and stimulated a series of 11 additional experiments in different laboratories over succeeding years on the relationship of nucleotide excision repair and life span in mammalian species (reviewed by Bernstein and Bernstein[46]). In general, the findings of these studies indicated a good correlation between nucleotide excision repair capacity and life span. The association between nucleotide excision repair capability and longevity is strengthened by the evidence that defects in nucleotide excision repair proteins in humans and rodents cause features of premature aging, as reviewed by Diderich.[42]

Further support for the theory that DNA damage is the primary cause of aging comes from study of Poly ADP ribose polymerases (PARPs). PARPs are enzymes that are activated by DNA strand breaks and play a role in DNA base excision repair. Burkle et al. reviewed evidence that PARPs, and especially PARP-1, are involved in maintaining mammalian longevity.[47] The life span of 13 mammalian species correlated with poly(ADP ribosyl)ation capability measured in mononuclear cells. Furthermore, lymphoblastoid cell lines from peripheral blood lymphocytes of humans over age 100 had a significantly higher poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation capability than control cell lines from younger individuals.

See original here:
Maximum life span - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain. It is considered the "healing hormone" because in adults, it helps us heal rather than deteriorate. MD Longevity offers human growth hormone therapy for men and women.With two offices in New York and San Francisco, we serve clients from all over the world.

Some of the benefits of natural human growth hormone replacement include:

Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, is a protein-based hormone. HGH stimulates growth, cell reproduction and generation. This hormone also regulates body composition and body fluids, affects muscle growth and strength, controls sugar and fat metabolism, and may even influence heart function. Growth hormone therapy is highly effective at reducing or even reversing the signs of illness, injury and aging.

Some people refer to HGH as "the healing hormone" because it promotes rejuvenation rather than deterioration of body cells. HGH helps children grow then aids in the maintenance of tissues and organs throughout life. Its curative powers make HGH beneficial after surgery, injury or illness.

The human body produces and stores HGH in the pituitary gland, located in the center of the skull just behind the bridge of the nose. The production of HGH slows with age. Lowering HGH levels can cause weight gain, loss of muscle tone and strength, poor metabolism and potentially poor cardiac function.

Human growth hormone supplements can improve the curative powers of the human body. Ann J. Peters might prescribe HGH to treat a child's growth disorder or growth hormone deficiency in an adult. Human growth hormone is also effective for aging and obesity.

Growth hormone therapy can provide many benefits to individuals with deficiency in growth hormones, including decreased body fat, improved skin tone and texture, bulkier muscle mass, an increase in sexual function, and a markedly improved immune system. HGH also improves bone mass and increases exercise capacity. Highly trained specialists like Dr Ann Peters know how to administer HGH supplements properly to fully optimize their potential.

Ann J. Peters might suggest HGH to treat the following conditions:

HGH is also effective for treating conditions affecting adults, including:

Contact the offices of Ann J. Peters MD to learn more about human growth hormone supplements.

Visit link:
Human Growth Hormone Therapy - MD Longevity

Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is a genomics and cell therapy-based diagnostic and therapeutic company. Using advances in genomic sequencing, the human microbiome, proteomics, informatics, computing, and cell therapy technologies, HLI is building the worlds most comprehensive database on human genotypes and phenotypes to tackle the diseases associated with aging-related human biological decline. HLI is also leading the development of cell-based therapeutics to address age-related decline in endogenous stem cell function. HLI is concentrating on cancer, diabetes and obesity, heart and liver diseases, and dementia.

The market for healthy human longevity is enormous. Globally, total healthcare expenses run over $7 trillion, with nearly half of these funds being spent in the senior (65+) years of a persons life to help keep them alive longer. Using the combined power of HLIs core areas of expertise genomics, informatics, and stem cell therapies, HLI is going to change the way medicine is practiced by furthering the shift to a preventive, genomic-based medicine model.

HLI revenue streams will be derived from database licensing to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic organizations, sequencing, and development of advanced diagnostics and therapeutics.

Read more:
Human Longevity | CrunchBase

"We are excited to establish this long term relationship with AstraZeneca who are now establishing themselves as a leader in genomic-focused research," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI. "We look forward to working together to use HLI's proprietary computational methods and genomic data insights to better inform clinical trials and drug development."

The HLI Knowledgebase, which was recently awarded a 2016 Bio-IT World Best Practice Award, is a key tool in the company's portfolio to transform how medicine is practiced. The Knowledgebase contains tens of thousands of high-quality samples with genomic and phenotypic data and can be used to help customers streamline drug development, aid in discovery of biomarker and companion diagnostics, and rescue and repurpose drugs from failed clinical trials.

About Human Longevity, Inc.Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world's largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI's business also includes the HLI Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research center which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health. For more information, please visit http://www.humanlongevity.com or http://www.healthnucleus.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/LA76169LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/human-longevity-inc-announces-10-year-deal-with-astrazeneca-to-sequence-and-analyze-patient-samples-from-astrazeneca-clinical-trials-300255548.html

SOURCE Human Longevity, Inc.

Home

More:
Human Longevity, Inc. Announces 10 Year Deal with ...

It is becoming more and more clear that our gut flora is the central issue for health. (More here on that)

It is best to start with the the healthiest gut flora possible. This means that it is best that we are born vaginally. We are a blank slate in the womb. Being born vaginally gives us our mothers flora.

Evidence is now coming out about how important this is. Leaving mothers with a more informed choice. If you can have a vaginal birth, you are giving your child the best start possible.

Here is the summary:

The researchers found that infants born by cesarean delivery were lacking a specific group of bacteria found in infants delivered vaginally, even if they were breastfed. Infants strictly formula-fed, compared with babies that were exclusively or partially breastfed, also had significant differences in their gut bacteria.

We want parents (and physicians) to realize that their decisions regarding c-section and breastfeeding can impact their infants gut microbiome, and this can have potentially lifelong effects on the childs health, says postdoctoral student and first author Meghan Azad, University of Alberta.

The potential long-term consequences of decisions regarding mode of delivery and infant diet are not to be underestimated, write the authors. Infants born by cesarean delivery are at increased risk of asthma, obesity and type 1 diabetes, whereas breastfeeding is variably protective against these and other disorders.

Beginning before birth, CHILD collects a range of information on environmental exposures such as pets, air pollution, household cleaning products, maternal and infant diet and more, and child health outcomes (including biological samples and clinical assessments). The researchers will use this information to study the development of the gut microbiome and its relationship to conditions such as wheeze and allergies in future studies.

Children born by cesarean delivery or fed with formula may be at increased risk of a variety of conditions later in life; both processes alter the gut microbiota in healthy infants, which could be the mechanism for the increased risk, writes Dr. Rob Knight, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist and an Associate Professor with the BioFrontiers Institute and Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Computer Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States, in a related commentary.

These issues are of direct relevance to pregnant women and health practitioners and should be considered when choices such as elective cesarean delivery and other interventions are discussed, state the commentary authors.

Like Loading...

Read the original:
The Missing Human Manual

LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), the genomics-based, technology-driven company working to revolutionize the practice of medicine, announced today the launch of the company's first Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research project that has the potential to transform healthcare. The inaugural Health Nucleus is located in San Diego, CA, at HLI's headquarters facility. More Health Nucleus facilities are slated to open in 2016 in other US and International cities.

The Health Nucleus platform uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning combined with a comprehensive curation of personal health history to deliver the most complete picture of individual health.

The Health Nucleus provides a novel approach devoted to exploring, quantifying and beginning to understand as much as possible about individual health and disease risk. Supported by the world's largest genome sequencing center and the leading experts in translating genomics data into clinically relevant information, this platform embodies HLI's philosophies and ideas on how individuals can better understand their health. It is the first center to combine genomics with a complete array of other clinical and biological measures, including:

An experienced team of clinicians, geneticists and bioinformaticians curate these data and produce an integrated report that can inform clients' care. The Health Nucleus team will work hand-in-hand with the individual and their physician. As future risk associations are validated in the HLI database, a web-based portal will be updated with this curated information. The Health Nucleus clinical team is led by Medical Director Pamila Brar, MD, Clinical Geneticist Eric Dec, MD, and Functional Medicine Physician Helen Messier, Ph.D., MD.

"The Health Nucleus is our opportunity to lead the way to genomic health, enabling individuals and their physicians to pivot towards a more proactive, preventative and predictive healthcare future," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI."When I sequenced the first human genome in 2000, I saw the potential for a genomics-driven approach to healthcare, as I uncovered personal health-related insights I would have never otherwise known. The Health Nucleus is a critical step to realizing that potential and providing that kind of insight to individuals worldwide."

"When individuals sign up with the Health Nucleus, they're enrolling in a year of health insight and analysis," said HLI's Chief Medical Officer, Brad Perkins, MD."HLI is combining an advanced series of screens in partnership with primary care physicians, paired with a visit to our Health Nucleus facility, to generate a comprehensive look at personal data that will inform and impact care in new ways."

The Health Nucleus uses the latest technologies from the following companies:

Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) was founded to enhance the healthy, high-performance lifespan. HLI is building the world's largest, most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data.From there, HLI's team develops and applies large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to benefit both Health Nucleus guests, and pharmaceutical companies, insurers and healthcare providers worldwide. This combined power in HLI provides the underpinning for the Health Nucleus reports.

The Health Nucleus is operating under an IRB approved protocol. To learn more, please visit http://www.healthnucleus.com.

About Human Longevity, Inc.Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world's largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. A privately held company headquartered in San Diego, CA, HLI was founded in 2013 by pioneers in the fields of genomics and stem cell therapy. HLI will be licensing access to its database, and developing new diagnostics and therapeutics as part of their product offerings. For more information please visit, http://www.humanlongevity.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151013/276390LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/LA76169LOGO

SOURCE Human Longevity, Inc.

RELATED LINKS http://www.humanlongevity.com

See original here:
Human Longevity, Inc. Launches the Health Nucleus, a ...

Updated December 15, 2015.

The human life span is themaximum number of years an individual from the human species can live based on observed examples. Though this definition of life span may seem simple enough, it is often confused for other common concepts in the study of the aging, life, and death of living organisms. In order to better understand the human life span, let's dive a little deeper into the concept and its important distinctions from other commonly used terms.

The term life span is most commonly confused with another important concept: life expectancy. While both terms relate to the number of living years, they actually define very different concepts.While the term life span refers to the maximum number of years an individual can live, life expectancy refers to an estimate or an average number of years a person can expect to live.

Most simply put, life expectancy can be attributed to and impacted by an individual and their personal health history, genetics, and lifestyle, whereas life span holds for all living humans.

For example, my life expectancy is affected by personal factors like my family history, my environment, my diet, and even my age and sex. My life expectancy might be different for your life expectancy and it may even change over time. Our life spans, however, are one in the same. We share it as members of the same species. So what is the human life span?

Given that the human life span is defined by the longest observed human life from birth to death, it is a figure that has changed over the years.

For humans, the current accepted maximum life span is 122 years. This age was achieved by Jeane LouiseCalmentof France. Calment lived from February 21, 1975 to August 4, 1997 until she was exactly 122 years and 164 days old. Remarkably, Calmentremained relatively healthy and mentally intact until her 122 birthday.

Though there have certainly been claims of longer lives, none of the claims were acceptably documented and verified. Calment remains the first verified person to reach any age between 116 and 122 and the only verified person to reach the age of 122.

With the United State's average life expectancy currently hovering at around 78.88 years, the age to which most Americans can expect to live is still forty-four years younger than the human life span. So how do we close that gap and elongate our lives? There will always be factors that are out of our individual control like our inherited genes, but we shouldn't discount the impact of those that we can control. It is generally understood that closing the gap between life expectancy and life span can be done through healthier living, less exposure to toxins, the prevention of chronic illnesses, and a little bit of luck.

Go here to see the original:
The Human Life Span Defined - Longevity Advice from About.com

SAN DIEGO and SANDTON, South Africa, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), the genomics-based, technology-driven company, and Discovery Ltd, a pioneering insurer dedicated to making people healthier, announced today that the two companies have entered into a multi-year agreement to offer whole exome, whole genome and cancer genome sequencing to Discovery's clients in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Through this agreement, HLI will offer a full exome sequencing and analysis product tailored to Discovery's clients for just $250 USD.

Discovery clients will access these new services through the company's Vitality Program, a behavioral wellness solution that helps people get healthier by giving them the tools, knowledge, access and incentives to improve their health. Discovery partners with major global insurers across four continents with its Vitality program, which encourages behavior change, enables behavior-linked insurance pricing and offers shared value to insurers, clients and society.

"Discovery is excited to be partnering with HLI in bringing affordable genome sequencing to large numbers of its clients in South Africa and the United Kingdom. We believe that this is a pioneering approach in global health insurance, and will enable us to provide our clients with the world's most advanced, current knowledge on their genetically determined disease risks, as well as on personalized health, wellness and medical treatment strategies. In addition, the de-identified genomic data will be used for extensive ongoing research with numerous collaborators around the world, and we are excited that together with our clients, we will be able to make a material contribution to global research efforts aimed at improving the health of populations and reducing the growing burden of diseases of lifestyle," said Dr. Jonathan Broomberg, MD, Ph.D, CEO of Discovery Health.

All Discovery clients who choose to participate in this unprecedented health screening will be provided a comprehensive report of their genome findings which includes disease risk and potential wellness strategies. HLI will provide this information to Discovery who will deliver these reports to clients through their network of physicians and genetic counselors to aid in the understanding and interpretation of each individual's genome report. Clients will also benefit from regular updates to their reports, as new scientific discoveries emerge, and will be able to access these via specially designed web and app interfaces. The highest standards of data security will be implemented by both HLI and Discovery, ensuring that client data is fully protected.

"We are eager to begin working with Discovery and its Vitality program to bring this unique insurance offering to their clients. Discovery is one of the most forward-looking companies in the industry in motivating their clients to live healthier, better and hopefully longer lives. We can't imagine a better partner for our products and technology. We believe that genomic understanding of individuals is one of the best ways to positively impact human health and health outcomes. Together Discovery and HLI are paving the way for a new healthcare future," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI.

HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. Through the agreement HLI will also receive de-identified data from participating Discovery clients. The combined genomic and phenotypic data becomes part of the HLI database and will support HLI in further expanding the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data.

As part of this agreement Discovery and HLI will also work to develop and open HLI Health Nucleus centers in South Africa and the UK. The HLI Health Nucleus is a unique free-standing health center where clients receive a complete biological and health assessment of themselves through genome, microbiome, metabolome sequencing, along with comprehensive MRI body scans and other more traditional clinical testing. The first Health Nucleus is opening October 2015 at HLI's San Diego, California headquarters.

The partnership between Discovery and HLI will be available in the UK to clients of VitalityHealth. Previously a joint venture with Prudential plc, PruHealth became a wholly-owned business in the Discovery Group and was branded as VitalityHealth. VitalityHealth's unique model offers a holistic healthcare solution that integrates wellness and prevention programs with traditional health coverage to over 550,000 customers in the UK.

About Human Longevity, Inc. Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world's largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine.HLI will be licensing access to its database, and developing new diagnostics and therapeutics as part of their product offerings. For more information please visit, http://www.humanlongevity.com.

About Discovery Ltd Discovery Limited is a South African-founded financial services organization that operates in the healthcare, life assurance, short-term insurance, savings and investment products and wellness markets. Founded in 1992, Discovery was guided by a clear core purpose to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. Underpinning this core purpose is the belief that through innovation, Discovery can be a powerful market disruptor.

The company, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, currently serves over 4.4 million clients across South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Singapore and Australia. Discovery recently announced an intent to partner with Generali, a leading insurer in Europe, and has partnered with John Hancock in the US. These new partnerships will bring Discovery's shared-value business model to the insurance and protection industries in Europe and the US. In its partnerships and joint ventures with leading insurers globally, Discovery acts as an intellectual property provider, and uses the flexibility of the Vitality model to bring a comprehensive wellness platform that is non-discriminatory and intuitive to clients around the world, using a global network of screening, physical activity, nutrition and incentive partners.

Vitality, Discovery's wellness program, is the world's largest scientific, incentive-based wellness solution for individuals and corporates. The global Vitality membership base now exceeds three million lives in five markets. Discovery is an authorized financial services provider and trades under the code "DSY" on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.Follow us on Twitter @Discovery_SA

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/LA76169LOGO

SOURCE Human Longevity, Inc.

RELATED LINKS http://www.humanlongevity.com

Follow this link:
Human Longevity, Inc. and Discovery Ltd to Offer... -- SAN ...

Watch all filmed sessions from Paleo f(x) here: http://www.paleofx.com/on-demand

Join our newsletter - http://eepurl.com/YrVLf Visit us - http://www.paleofx.com Like on Facebook - http://www.fb.com/PaleoFX Follow on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/PaleoFX

About the speaker : Dr. Emily Deans :

Emily Deans, M.D., is a board certified adult psychiatrist practicing in Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 2000 and from the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency in 2004, and was a Chief Resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She is currently a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

The overarching theory she explores is that our bodies and brains do best in conditions for which they are evolved. She digs up scientific information and presents it in that context. She feels that by studying evolutionary medicine, we come closer to the answers for optimal conditions for health and vitality. The dietary basics of evolutionary medicine are simple: don't eat very much fructose, omega-6 rich industrial vegetable oils, grains (such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt, quinoa, oats, corn, etc.), or processed "fake" food in general. Eat as much local, farmstand, grassfed, pastured, wild-caught as you care for. That's vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, eggs, and fruits. In her opinion, if you have no serious medical conditions, it's perfectly healthy to have high-fat dairy, safe starches such as white rice or potatoes, red wine, and dark chocolate in moderation. Also, get plenty of sleep and play.

Visit Emily at : http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspo...

About the speaker : Dr. Ron Rosedale :

Dr. Ron Rosedale is an Internationally known expert in nutritional and metabolic medicine whose work with diabetics is truly groundbreaking. Very few physicians have had such consistent success in helping diabetics to eliminate or reduce their need for insulin and to reduce heart disease-both without drugs or surgery.

Dr. Rosedale was founder of the Rosedale Center, co-founder of the Colorado Center for Metabolic Medicine (Boulder, CO USA) and founder of the Carolina Center of Metabolic Medicine (Asheville, NC). Through these centers, he has helped thousands suffering from so-called incurable diseases to regain their health. One of Dr. Rosedale's life goals is to wipe out type II diabetes in this country as a model for the world. He also has written a book, "The Rosedale Diet", covering his proven treatment methods for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, osteoporosis and other chronic diseases of aging.

Visit Dr. Rosedale at : http://www.drrosedale.com

Read the original here:
Longevity and Human Evolution | Emily Deans M.D. vs Ron ...