Category Archives: Human Longevity

DF Medica Personalized Nutrition Program based on your DNA
IS IT YOUR GOAL maintain long-term health, functionality and wellbeing during AGEING? Ageing is a challenge for any living organism and human longevity is a ...

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A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May 1999 demonstrated that independently living seniors that have pets tend to have better physical health and mental wellbeing than those that do not have pets. This is because animals of all types, especially dogs and cats, help the elderly overcome the pain of loneliness by being great companions that lavish affection.

For anyone who is consistently left alone, pets can also supply a sense of security and protection. They can make one laugh and divert the mind away from troubles.

Several studies have shown that pets can aid in relaxation, lower blood pressure, promote health, and extend ones life. They also help us unwind and relieve stress and anxiety. Anyone who bonds with a pet will confirm their inestimable value. The following are the benefits that elderly persons can derive from owning a pet

Companionship

Loneliness seems to be the most serious condition an elderly person can face. Major events, such as spousal loss, are frequently identified as precipitating factors in loneliness among the elderly population. In fact, studies have found out that pet owners were better able to cope three weeks after a spouses death; while it took about six months after the death of a spouse before non pet owners could cope.

The researchers drew conclusions that relationships with pets cannot be considered substitutes for close interpersonal human relationships; however, it can be assumed that a pet in the home will ease the loneliness felt after the loss of a human companion. This is the reason why a widowed person should be encouraged to keep pets during the early grief period.

Exercise

Pets need to be walked or played with often, and this can increase the amount of daily exercise elderly pet owners receive. Studies have shown that in the course of interaction with a pet, elderly pet owners have much higher levels of physical activity than non-pet owners.

Stress reduction

Pet owners have significantly lower levels of stress than people who do not own pets. The reason for this is that the unconditional love and affection pets offer can help elderly people get through stressful moments more easily.

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Pet companionship for the elderly

One secret to human longevity is the regular intake of herbal supplements. Find out which herbal supplements impact longevity with expert tips from a science and health researcher in this free video about improving human longevity.

We're going to talk about living a long, healthy life, and whether or not herbal supplements can contribute to our health. And herbs are something that's kind of a hotly debated topic, because they're not formally regulated, and yet herbs can be very potent. They can be as potent, even more potent than conventional medicinal drugs that you would get prescribed from your doctor. So, some people are very cautious about recommending herbs, just because of the fact that they're not regulated and some people might not follow the directions, and overdose, what not. But I do think it's important to recognize that scientific studies have shown that many different herbs do have very helpful benefits, and that if you use them correctly and in moderation, then they can definitely be a part of a healthy lifestyle. A couple that have--that some good studies have been done on that I personally really like is andrographis. It's sold under different names, and I'm not promoting any particular brand. The main thing is just do your research, make sure you're buying it from a reputable company that you know has high standards, because there are people who sell substandard products, unfortunately, so you want to be careful. Andrographis has been shown in double blind studies to be very effective at treating symptoms related to cold and upper respiratory infections, flu-like illnesses. So, you know, that's great. In fact, a natural substance that has been proven to have very few side effects, and it can make a big difference. So, definitely--rhodiola is another herb that I really like. Recent--there's been several recent studies that show that that can help with stress resistance. It can make you more resistant to stress, also to illness. It can boost your immune system. Different studies from around the world show that it can also actually improve your concentration. So, a lot of these herbs, one thing that's nice about them is that they have kind of a systemic effect in that they can actually help you with several different objective at the same time. Rhodiloa for example is good for your immune system, and it's also--studies have shown that it also may be good for clarity. So, that's something to consider. There are good herbs out there. You'll want to do your research and make sure that science backs up that it is a good product before you waste your money.

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Video: Human Longevity Secrets: Herbal Supplements | eHow

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Human longevity is the length of a person's life span. The Creationist reflections on this topic typically focus on the effects of the flood on the human lifespan, and the cause of human mortality. Ancient historical documents, including the Biblical book of Genesis, record lifespans approximately 10 times above what they are currently. However, immediately after the flood, human longevity shows a rapid decline.

According to the Bible's book of Genesis, God restricted the human lifespan to 120 years during the time of the Flood:

According to the book of Psalms, the average human lifespan (which at the time of the writing would have been 3,000 years ago, and we know must have been at least 2,500 years ago given the Dead Sea Scrolls) was 70 years:

Prior to the flood, Genesis 5 records that people lived extraordinarily long lives: routinely over 900 years. Methuselah is known for living longer than any other human in history, dying at the age of 969.

This longevity is believed to be so extraordinarily long in part because environmental conditions were optimal before the Earth was destroyed during the global flood. This perhaps maintained by a stronger magnetic field or dense atmosphere which collapsed during the flood.

It should be noted that there is nothing known about the human body which would fundamentally prevent humans from having lived that long in the past, or to one day live that long again.[1] Scientists do not know why humans age and ultimately die, although some have speculated[Reference needed] that it might be due to the shortening of telomeres, which could theoretically have been much longer prior to the flood.

Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, wrote:

After the great flood, human lifespans declined quickly and precipitously as seen in the chart at right.

There are several possible factors for consideration:

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Human longevity - CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation ...

Published: Thursday, January 2, 2014 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at 5:22 p.m.

Perhaps someday geroscience -- the study of human aging and its impacts -- will identify a law similar to Newton's Third.

That thought came to mind as we read a Sunday report in the Herald-Tribune, by Barbara Peters Smith, on the emerging field of science surrounding aging. An Associated Press article predicting a "global retirement crisis" reinforced that notion.

The report by Peters Smith, a veteran reporter who covers aging-related issues, focused on Florence Katz of Sarasota, a 98-year-old woman who remains happy, healthy and active.

She is not alone: Longevity has increased dramatically in the United States and the Western world; for millions of those older adults, life is good.

But the article also recognized the downsides of longevity -- difficulties associated with disabilities, health and memory problems, lack of long-term income.

New stage, new world

Experts and demographers debate the details of life expectancies but, in general, there is no dispute about the aging of the planet's population. Consider this: There are now more people over 65 than under 15.

Linda P. Fried, dean of public health at Columbia University, told Peters Smith that the increase in life expectancy "offers us a new stage ... and we're not very well prepared for it."

The AP report focused on a troubling and pervasive lack of preparation worldwide. The news service quoted Norman Dreger, a retirement specialist in Germany, who said: "The first wave of under-prepared workers is going to try to go into retirement and will find they can't afford to do so."

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Editorial: Adapting to longevity

The close of 2013 gives us an excellent opportunity, though satiated with holiday feasts, to look back on a year that has been filled with scientific accomplishment. So it's time to get comfortable on your Binary Chair, sip your hot cocoa from a phase-change mug while your Foodini prints out a batch of cookies and reflect on science stories of note from the past year.

If 2012 was the year of 3D printing, 2013 marked the first real progress in printing bits of lifeforms.

We have seen the printing of retinal cells in a major step toward growing replacement retinas, as well as the 3D printing of functional liver tissue.

New methods for printing tissues included the direct printing of hydrogel blood vessel scaffolding by dynamic optical projection stereolithography, 3D printing of human embryonic stem cells, and the micro 3D printing of lipid cell-like assemblies as tissue substitutes. On the nanoscale, we have seen the creation of artificial ribosomes, which carry out biological protein synthesis in the body.

Also of note is the development of the BioPen, which allows a surgeon to directly draw stem cells, scaffolding, and growth factors on the damaged surfaces of bones, thereby assisting their rapid healing.

We confidently expect printing bits and pieces of ourselves for replacement and medical research will continue as a hot topic throughout the decade, with substantial new treatments hitting the medical mainstream as we approach 2020. The maximum human longevity probably wont be radically changed, but somewhat longer and much healthier lives are likely to be the fallout from the medical use of replacement organs.

A topic closely related to 3D printing of people parts is enabling a flexible source of the cells and tissues needed for such procedures. 2013 was a year of great progress in this area, with developments ranging from creation of mini-brains to a potential cure for baldness.

The real question remaining after this year: Is there any type of cell or tissue we cant figure out how to produce? We suspect that until medicine is able to substantially duplicate the contents of a brain, or some smoothly operating cerebral rejuvenation treatment comes along, 120 years will continue to be roughly the maximum human lifespan. However, we can still have hair at age 120! Many of these new methods are awaiting FDA approval for human testing, so in the short term you might still want to go ahead and get yourself a good toupe!

2013 has seen major strides in practical, experimental, and theoretical terms, toward stronger materials and slipperier surfaces.

Not surprisingly, graphene retains its crown as the strongest material that has actually been made in significant amounts. A new technique for making large areas of polycrystalline graphene has succeeded in reproducing the record strength of single crystal graphene. Graphene aerogel has also retaken the position of worlds lightest solid with a density of 0.16 mg/cc, or about one-eighth of the density of air.

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2013: The year in science

Tune into the annual New Year's marathon broadcast of the show that debuted 55 years ago, and you might notice something strange: Its sci-fi stories look a lot like today.

More than half a century after it first aired, The Twilight Zone still has one of the most recognizable opening themes in television history: Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo. Incidentally, composer Marius Constant dashed off the 30-second theme song in a single afternoon, according to The New York Timesbut that melody has endured in our popular imagination just as the program has. Though its original run spanned five seasons between 1959 and 1964, generations of new viewers have since discovered The Twilight Zone, its longevity at least partly buoyed by an annual marathon broadcast each New Year's dating back to 1994. The Syfy network will continue the tradition for a 19th time this week, airing more than 80 episodes in 48 hours starting the morning of Dec. 31 at 8 a.m.

Critics tend to talk about The Twilight Zone like its trapped in amber. The series is celebrated as an acute reflection of a rare and intense moment in American history; a space-age cult classic that captured the messy transition between post-World War II America and the chaotic 1960s. Atomic war, space exploration, government control, anxiety, and mortality are all common Twilight Zone themes.

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But the series has endured for more than half a century because of how resonant it remains today. The Twilight Zone is at its core an exploration of the human condition and commentary on how people cope with fear of the unknown. Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling said that even in science fiction, he was most compelled by stories that were relatable first in human terms. If you cant believe the unbelievability, then theres something wrong in the writing, he told a college class in 1975. Serling's outlook also meant he was more interested in imagining the world as it might actually become. Here's how he explained this idea in a 1970 interview: "I would probably shy away from the year 2500. I would much rather deal in 1998. The hardware that I use, I think, should be identifiable. I like to know what happens Thursday, not in the next century."

Yet now that we're well into the next century that was so distant to Serling, some of The Twilight Zone's more fantastical ideas and inventions have emerged in real life. More than 50 years since it first aired, re-watching the series reveals that many of the technologies and ideas it imagined as supernatural in the 1960s are commonplace or at least conceivable todayincluding driverless cars, flat-screen televisions, human-like robotics, government surveillance, and more.

The 1963 episode "Valley of the Shadow," for example, features a device that manipulates atoms to make objects disappear or appear. Scientists today are working on making "invisibility cloaks" that obscure objects by bending light waves around them, while 3D printing technology is becoming cheaper and more mainstream.

Several Twilight Zone episodes deal with nostalgia and the desire to return to one's youth. In "Static" (1961), a man is able to listen on-demand to a radio broadcast from his childhood, an idea that seemed supernatural when the episode first aired but is banal today. Platforms like YouTube have so altered our expectations about whats available on-demand that were often surprised today when were not able to revisit obscure broadcasts from the past. (And if you want to get meta about it, heres a clip from that very episode.)

The Twilight Zone also predicted driverless vehicles in more than one episode. A driverless 1939 Lagonda coupe chases a man in "A Thing About Machines" (1960), though the coupe was possessed rather than programmed like Googles modern-day fleet of autonomous vehicles. Plastic surgery as we know it was still in its infancy when The Twilight Zone first aired, and today cosmetic surgery is commonthough still not as extreme as depicted in "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" (1964), the episode that imagines a world in which young adults undergo surgery so they can look like one of a set number of models featured in a catalog.

Of course, there's plenty The Twilight Zone envisioned that hasnt happened. Lucky for us, Earth was not annihilated by nuclear war in 1985, as was predicted in "Elegy" (1960). Gold has notwell, not yet anywaylost all value, as The Twilight Zone claims it will by the year 2061 in "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" (1961). Humans did not settle on a new planet in 1991, as explained in "On Thursday We Leave for Home" (1963). Astronauts were not placed in suspended animation for long space missions in 1987, as in "The Long Morrow" (1964). And despite a scene in "Two" (1961), print newspapers almost certainly wont be the primary source of news once 2061 rolls around.

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How The Twilight Zone Predicted Our Paranoid Present

Dec. 19, 2013 Elevated levels of an amino acid, tyrosine, alter development and longevity in animals and may contribute to the development of diabetes in people, new research from the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio indicates. This line of study could potentially lead to a novel way to prevent or treat the disease. The research is reported in PLOS Genetics, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

Evidence of a direct effect in diabetes

Tyrosine is increased in the blood of people who are obese or diabetic, said study senior author Alfred Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the UT Health Science Center. Among people who are obese, those at the highest risk of developing diabetes tend to have higher tyrosine levels. "It was unknown whether this was simply a marker of diabetes risk or could be playing a direct role in the disease," Dr. Fisher said. "Our work suggests that tyrosine has a direct effect."

Dr. Fisher is a physician scientist with the Barshop Institute's Center for Healthy Aging and the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. He has studied tyrosine's effect on insulin signaling in an animal model called C. elegans (roundworms) since 2005. The observation that tyrosine was elevated in human diabetics further spurred the research. Now he is ready to take research insights back into people.

Concept to be tested in humans

"This will be tested in small human clinical trials," Dr. Fisher said. "Our team will augment tyrosine levels in study participants for a short period and observe whether this changes the ability of the body to respond to insulin, which is a key hormone involved in controlling blood sugar levels. This will not be detrimental to participants, as the increase will be transient and well below the level of what is clinically relevant."

As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Fisher found that increasing the levels of tyrosine in roundworms promoted their longevity. Worms with mutations of certain genes lived 10 percent to 20 percent longer. One combination of genetic mutations produced an almost 60 percent increase in life span.

Same inhibition, different effects

"In both humans and worms, the effect is due to an inhibition of insulin signaling," Dr. Fisher said. "Interfering with this pathway produces longevity in worms, whereas in people it leads to insulin resistance and an elevated risk of developing diabetes."

Tyrosine has been studied for decades, but few if any research groups have made the connection between tyrosine and diabetes.

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Amino acid's increase suspected in diabetes

JEFFREY BROWN:Now, mining technology to solve the world's problems.

NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman recently traveled to California and filed this report on some innovative thinkers. It's part of his ongoing reportingMaking Sense of financial news.

PAUL SOLMAN:On the back lot at 20th Century Fox, the world of make-believe, and a typical make-believe vision of the future, courtesy of FOX CEO Jim Gianopulos.

JIM GIANOPULOS,CEO, 20th Century Fox: Here's a little peek at what's in store for us.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR:At Weyland Industries, it has long been our goal to create artificial intelligence almost indistinguishable from mankind itself.

PAUL SOLMAN:The sci-fi pipe dream of moving pictures for as long as they have existed, but no dream to those assembled here.

This wasn't a film industry gathering, but a conference put together by Singularity University, a futuristic Silicon Valley think tank which fosters and showcases high-tech inventions. The goal is to make the world a better place as fast as possible.

Co-founder Peter Diamandis.

PETER DIAMANDIS,chairman, Singularity University: These tools that are now in your hands allow us to really take on any challenge. It's about the most efficient use of capital and tools that have ever existed.

PAUL SOLMAN:Singularity's mission is to solve humanity's most pressing problems by spurring new technologies in food, water, energy, supposedly scarce, but, with the tinkerings of technology, says Diamandis, potentially abundant.

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Tech's next feats? Maybe on-demand kidneys, robot sex, cheap solar, lab meat

Dan Buettner is the team leader of "The Blue Zones" which is a longevity research project funded by National Geographic. They are studying human longevity in various cultures around the world. In his book "The Blue Zones", Dan Buettner outlines the healthy habits, the longevity diets and the cultural and familial values that each longevity society upholds.

The name for the project was coined after Dan's team happened to be using a blue marker to circle areas with high rates of human longevity on a map. A blue zone is specifically a geographical region somewhere in the world that has exceptionally high rates of longevity. For example, Okinawan longevity is the best in the world, per capita. One in 2,000 Okinawans can expect to make it past 100, whereas the average American has a 1 in 100,000 chance (according to statistics from 1990).

In Dan's book, he and his team cover four different blue zones across the globe. This was one of the best books I have ever read and I couldn't put it down. It combined both longevity statistics and facts about the people, their lifestyles and the histories of their regions. It also balanced it out with accounts of the teams adventures in the blue zones as well as interviews with many of the long-lived centenarians and even some super centenarians (people who have lived past the age of 110)! They visited the island of Sardinia, Italy; the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; and Okinawa, Japan.

~Emphasis on strong family values

~Strong community values

~Exclusively plant based diets (little to no animal products)

~Whole food lifestyles focused on fruits and veggies

~Antioxidants and anti-aging herbs are plentiful

~Daily benefits of physical exercise

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In the blue zones worldwide, what are common human longevity ...