Category Archives: Human Longevity

Measure of average lifespan in a given population

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, its current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth (LEB), which can be defined in two ways. Cohort LEB is the mean length of life of a birth cohort (all individuals born in a given year) and can be computed only for cohorts born so long ago that all their members have died. Period LEB is the mean length of life of a hypothetical cohort[1][2] assumed to be exposed, from birth through death, to the mortality rates observed at a given year.[3]

National LEB figures reported by national agencies and international organizations for human populations are estimates of period LEB. In the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, human LEB was 26 years; the 2010 world LEB was 67.2 years. In recent years, LEB in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) is 49, while LEB in Japan is 83. The combination of high infant mortality and deaths in young adulthood from accidents, epidemics, plagues, wars, and childbirth, before modern medicine was widely available, significantly lowers LEB. For example, a society with a LEB of 40 would have relatively few people dying at exactly 40: most will die before 30 or after 55. In populations with high infant mortality rates, LEB is highly sensitive to the rate of death in the first few years of life. Because of this sensitivity, LEB can be grossly misinterpreted, leading to the belief that a population with a low LEB would have a small proportion of older people.[4] A different measure, such as life expectancy at age 5 (e5), can be used to exclude the effect of infant mortality to provide a simple measure of overall mortality rates other than in early childhood. Aggregate population measures such as the proportion of the population in various age groups, are also used alongside individual-based measures like formal life expectancy when analyzing population structure and dynamics. However, pre-modern societies still had universally higher mortality rates and lower life expectancies at every age for both males and females, and this example was relatively rare. In societies with life expectancies of 30, for instance, a 40-year remaining timespan at age 5 may not have been uncommon, but a 60-year one was.

Until the middle of the 20th century, infant mortality was approximately 4060% of the total mortality. Excluding child mortality, the average life expectancy during the 12th19th centuries was approximately 55 years. If a medieval person survived childhood, they had about a 50% chance of living 5055 years, instead of only 2540 years.[5]

Mathematically, life expectancy is the mean number of years of life remaining at a given age.[6] It is denoted by e x {displaystyle e_{x}} ,[a] which is the mean number of subsequent years of life for someone at age x {displaystyle x} , with a particular mortality. Life expectancy, longevity, and maximum lifespan are not synonymous. Longevity refers to the relatively long lifespan of some members of a population. Maximum lifespan is the age at death for the longest-lived individual of a species. Because life expectancy is an average, a particular person may die many years before or many years after the "expected" survival.

Life expectancy is also used in plant or animal ecology,[7] and in life tables (also known as actuarial tables). The concept of life expectancy may also be used in the context of manufactured objects,[8] though the related term[dubious discuss] shelf life is commonly used for consumer products, and the terms "mean time to breakdown" (MTTB) and "mean time between failures" (MTBF) are used in engineering.

Records of human lifespan above age 100 are highly susceptible to errors.[9] For example, the previous world-record holder for human lifespan, Carrie C. White,[who?] was uncovered as a simple typographic error after more than two decades.[9] The longest verified lifespan for any human is that of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who is verified as having lived to age 122 years, 164 days, between 21 February 1875 and 4 August 1997. This is referred to as the "maximum life span," which is the upper boundary of life, the maximum number of years any human is known to have lived.[10] A theoretical study shows that the maximum life expectancy at birth is limited by the human life characteristic value , which is around 104 years.[11] According to a study by biologists Bryan G. Hughes and Siegfried Hekimi, there is no evidence for limit on human lifespan.[12][13] However, this view has been questioned on the basis of error patterns.[9]

The following information is derived from the 1961 Encyclopdia Britannica and other sources, some with questionable accuracy. Unless otherwise stated, it represents estimates of the life expectancies of the world population as a whole. In many instances, life expectancy varied considerably according to class and gender.

Life expectancy at birth takes account of infant mortality and child mortality but not prenatal mortality.

[24][25][26][23][14][27]

When infant mortality is factored out [i.e. counting only the 67[24]-75% who survived the first year], life expectancy is around 3441 more years [i.e. expected to live to 3542]. When child mortality is factored out [i.e. counting only the 55-65% who survived to age 5], life expectancy is around 4045 [i.e. age 4550].[26] The ~50% that reached age 10 could also expect to reach ~45-50;[24] at 15 to ~4854; at 40 to ~60,[24] at 50 to ~6468; at 60 to ~7072; at 70 to ~7677.[26][28]

Another way of thinking about it - less than half of the people born in the mid-19th century made it past their 50th birthday. In contrast, 97% of the people born in 21st century England and Wales can expect to live longer than 50 years.[44]

Range: ~54 (Central African Republic) - 85.3 Hong Kong[51]

Life expectancy increases with age as the individual survives the higher mortality rates associated with childhood. For instance, the table gives the life expectancy at birth among 13th-century English nobles at 30. Having survived to the age of 21, a male member of the English aristocracy in this period could expect to live:[41]

17th-century English life expectancy was only about 35 years, largely because infant and child mortality remained high. Life expectancy was under 25 years in the early Colony of Virginia,[52] and in seventeenth-century New England, about 40 percent died before reaching adulthood.[53] During the Industrial Revolution, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically.[54] The under-5 mortality rate in London decreased from 74.5% in 17301749 to 31.8% in 18101829.[55][56]

Public health measures are credited with much of the recent increase in life expectancy. During the 20th century, despite a brief drop due to the 1918 flu pandemic[57] starting around that time the average lifespan in the United States increased by more than 30 years, of which 25 years can be attributed to advances in public health.[58]

The life expectancy for people reaching adulthood is greater, ignoring infant and child mortality. For instance, 16th Century English and Welsh women at 15 years may have had an life expectancy of around 35 more years (50 total).[43]

Human beings are expected to live on average 3040 years in Eswatini[59] and 82.6 years in Japan, but the latter's recorded life expectancy may have been very slightly increased by counting many infant deaths as stillborn.[60] An analysis published in 2011 in The Lancet attributes Japanese life expectancy to equal opportunities and public health as well as diet.[61][62]

There are great variations in life expectancy between different parts of the world, mostly caused by differences in public health, medical care, and diet. The impact of AIDS on life expectancy is particularly notable in many African countries. According to projections made by the United Nations (UN) in 2002, the life expectancy at birth for 20102015 (if HIV/AIDS did not exist) would have been:[64]

Actual life expectancy in Botswana declined from 65 in 1990 to 49 in 2000 before increasing to 66 in 2011. In South Africa, life expectancy was 63 in 1990, 57 in 2000, and 58 in 2011. And in Zimbabwe, life expectancy was 60 in 1990, 43 in 2000, and 54 in 2011.[65]

During the last 200 years, African countries have generally not had the same improvements in mortality rates that have been enjoyed by countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.[66][67]

In the United States, African-American people have shorter life expectancies than their European-American counterparts. For example, white Americans in 2010 are expected to live until age 78.9, but black Americans only until age 75.1. This 3.8-year gap, however, is the lowest it has been since 1975 at the latest. The greatest difference was 7.1 years in 1993.[68] In contrast, Asian-American women live the longest of all ethnic groups in the United States, with a life expectancy of 85.8 years.[69] The life expectancy of Hispanic Americans is 81.2 years.[68] According to the new government reports in the US, life expectancy in the country dropped again because of the rise in suicide and drug overdose rates. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found nearly 70,000 more Americans died in 2017 than in 2016, with rising rates of death among 25- to 44-year-olds.[70]

Cities also experience a wide range of life expectancy based on neighborhood breakdowns. This is largely due to economic clustering and poverty conditions that tend to associate based on geographic location. Multi-generational poverty found in struggling neighborhoods also contributes. In United States cities such as Cincinnati, the life expectancy gap between low income and high-income neighborhoods touches 20 years.[71]

Economic circumstances also affect life expectancy. For example, in the United Kingdom, life expectancy in the wealthiest and richest areas is several years higher than in the poorest areas. This may reflect factors such as diet and lifestyle, as well as access to medical care. It may also reflect a selective effect: people with chronic life-threatening illnesses are less likely to become wealthy or to reside in affluent areas.[74] In Glasgow, the disparity is amongst the highest in the world: life expectancy for males in the heavily deprived Calton area stands at 54, which is 28 years less than in the affluent area of Lenzie, which is only 8km away.[75][76]

A 2013 study found a pronounced relationship between economic inequality and life expectancy.[77] However, a study by Jos A. Tapia Granados and Ana Diez Roux at the University of Michigan found that life expectancy actually increased during the Great Depression, and during recessions and depressions in general.[78] The authors suggest that when people are working at a more extreme degree during prosperous economic times, they undergo more stress, exposure to pollution, and the likelihood of injury among other longevity-limiting factors.

Life expectancy is also likely to be affected by exposure to high levels of highway air pollution or industrial air pollution. This is one way that occupation can have a major effect on life expectancy. Coal miners (and in prior generations, asbestos cutters) often have lower life expectancies than average. Other factors affecting an individual's life expectancy are genetic disorders, drug use, tobacco smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, access to health care, diet, and exercise.

In the present, female human life expectancy is greater than that of males, despite females having higher morbidity rates (see Health Survival paradox). There are many potential reasons for this. Traditional arguments tend to favor sociology-environmental factors: historically, men have generally consumed more tobacco, alcohol and drugs than women in most societies, and are more likely to die from many associated diseases such as lung cancer, tuberculosis and cirrhosis of the liver.[80] Men are also more likely to die from injuries, whether unintentional (such as occupational, war or car accidents) or intentional (suicide).[80] Men are also more likely to die from most of the leading causes of death (some already stated above) than women. Some of these in the United States include cancer of the respiratory system, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, cirrhosis of the liver, emphysema, prostate cancer, and coronary heart disease.[10] These far outweigh the female mortality rate from breast cancer and cervical cancer. In the past, mortality rates for females in child-bearing age groups were higher than for males at the same age.

A paper from 2015 found that female fetuses have a higher mortality rate than male fetuses.[81] This finding contradicts papers dating from 2002 and earlier that attribute the male sex to higher in-utero mortality rates.[82][83][84] Among the smallest premature babies (those under 2 pounds or 900 g), females have a higher survival rate. At the other extreme, about 90% of individuals aged 110 are female. The difference in life expectancy between men and women in the United States dropped from 7.8years in 1979 to 5.3years in 2005, with women expected to live to age80.1 in 2005.[85] Data from the UK shows the gap in life expectancy between men and women decreasing in later life. This may be attributable to the effects of infant mortality and young adult death rates.[86]

Some argue that shorter male life expectancy is merely another manifestation of the general rule, seen in all mammal species, that larger-sized individuals within a species tend, on average, to have shorter lives.[87][88] This biological difference[clarification needed] occurs because women have more resistance to infections and degenerative diseases.[10]

In her extensive review of the existing literature, Kalben concluded that the fact that women live longer than men was observed at least as far back as 1750 and that, with relatively equal treatment, today males in all parts of the world experience greater mortality than females. Kallen's study, however, was restricted to data in Western Europe alone, where the demographic transition occurred relatively early. United Nations statistics from mid-twentieth century onward, show that in all parts of the world, females have a higher life expectancy at age 60 than males.[89] Of 72 selected causes of death, only 6 yielded greater female than male age-adjusted death rates in 1998 in the United States. Except for birds, for almost all of the animal species studied, males have higher mortality than females. Evidence suggests that the sex mortality differential in people is due to both biological/genetic and environmental/behavioral risk and protective factors.[90]

There is a recent suggestion that mitochondrial mutations that shorten lifespan continue to be expressed in males (but less so in females) because mitochondria are inherited only through the mother. By contrast, natural selection weeds out mitochondria that reduce female survival; therefore such mitochondria are less likely to be passed on to the next generation. This thus suggests that females tend to live longer than males. The authors claim that this is a partial explanation.[91][92]

Another explanation is the unguarded X hypothesis: according to this hypothesis one reason for why the average lifespan of males isn't as long as that of femalesby 18% on average according to the studyis that they have a Y chromosome which can't protect an individual from harmful genes expressed on the X chromosome, while a duplicate X chromosome, as present in female organisms, can ensure harmful genes aren't expressed.[93][94]

Before the Industrial Revolution, men lived longer than women on average.[95][96] In developed countries, starting around 1880, death rates decreased faster among women, leading to differences in mortality rates between males and females. Before 1880 death rates were the same. In people born after 1900, the death rate of 50- to 70-year-old men was double that of women of the same age. Men may be more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease than women, but this susceptibility was evident only after deaths from other causes, such as infections, started to decline.[97] Most of the difference in life expectancy between the sexes is accounted for by differences in the rate of death by cardiovascular diseases among persons aged 5070.[98]

The heritability of lifespan is estimated to be less than 10%, meaning the majority of variation in lifespan is attributable due to differences in environment rather than genetic variation.[99] However, researchers have identified regions of the genome which can influence the length of life and the number of years lived in good health. For example, a genome-wide association study of 1 million lifespans found 12 genetic loci which influenced lifespan by modifying susceptibility to cardiovascular and smoking-related disease.[100] The locus with the largest effect is APOE. Carriers of the APOE 4 allele live approximately one year less than average (per copy of the 4 allele), mainly due to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.[100]

In July 2020, scientists identified 10 genomic loci with consistent effects across multiple lifespan-related traits, including healthspan, lifespan, and longevity.[101] The genes affected by variation in these loci highlighted haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field. This study suggests that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.[102]

A follow-up study which investigated the genetics of frailty and self-rated health in addition to healthspan, lifespan, and longevity also highlighted haem metabolism as an important pathway, and found genetic variants which lower blood protein levels of LPA and VCAM1 were associated with increased healthy lifespan.[103]

In developed countries, the number of centenarians is increasing at approximately 5.5% per year, which means doubling the centenarian population every 13years, pushing it from some 455,000 in 2009 to 4.1million in 2050.[104] Japan is the country with the highest ratio of centenarians (347 for every 1million inhabitants in September 2010). Shimane Prefecture had an estimated 743 centenarians per million inhabitants.[105]

In the United States, the number of centenarians grew from 32,194 in 1980 to 71,944 in November 2010 (232 centenarians per million inhabitants).[106]

Mental illness is reported to occur in approximately 18% of the average American population.[107][108]

The mentally ill have been shown to have a 10- to a 25-year reduction in life expectancy.[110]Generally, the reduction of lifespan in the mentally ill population compared to the mentally stable population has been studied and documented.[111][112][113][114][115]

The greater mortality of people with mental disorders may be due to death from injury, from co-morbid conditions, or medication side effects.[116]For instance, psychiatric medications can increase the risk of developing diabetes.[117][118][119][120] It has been shown that the psychiatric medication olanzapine can increase risk of developing agranulocytosis among other comorbidities.[121][122] Psychiatric medicines also affect the gastrointestinal tract, where the mentally ill have a four times risk of gastrointestinal disease.[123][124][125]

As of the year 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have found an increased risk of death in the mentally ill.[126][127][128]

The life expectancy of people with diabetes, which is 9.3% of the U.S. population, is reduced by roughly ten to twenty years.[129][130] People over 60 years old with Alzheimer's disease have about a 50% life expectancy of 3 to 10 years.[131] Other demographics that tend to have a lower life expectancy than average include transplant recipients,[132] and the obese.[133]

Education on all levels has been shown to be strongly associated with increased life expectancy.[134] This association may be due partly to higher income,[135] which can lead to increased life expectancy. Despite the association, among identical twin pairs with different education levels, there is only weak evidence of a relationship between educational attainment and adult mortality.[134]

According to a paper from 2015, the mortality rate for the Caucasian population in the United States from 1993 to 2001 is four times higher[dubious discuss] for those who did not complete high school compared to those who have at least 16 years of education.[134] In fact, within the U.S. adult population, those who have less than a high school education have the shortest life expectancies.

Pre-school education also plays a large role in life expectancy. It was found that high-quality early-stage childhood education had positive effects on health. Researchers discovered this by analyzing the results of the Carolina Abecedarian Project (ABC) finding that the disadvantaged children who were randomly assigned to treatment had lower instances of risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in their mid-30s.[136]

Various species of plants and animals, including humans, have different lifespans. Evolutionary theory states that organisms that, by virtue of their defenses or lifestyle, live for long periods and avoid accidents, disease, predation, etc. are likely to have genes that code for slow aging, which often translates to good cellular repair. One theory is that if predation or accidental deaths prevent most individuals from living to an old age, there will be less natural selection to increase the intrinsic life span.[137] That finding was supported in a classic study of opossums by Austad;[138] however, the opposite relationship was found in an equally prominent study of guppies by Reznick.[139][140]

One prominent and very popular theory states that lifespan can be lengthened by a tight budget for food energy called caloric restriction.[141] Caloric restriction observed in many animals (most notably mice and rats) shows a near doubling of life span from a very limited calorific intake. Support for the theory has been bolstered by several new studies linking lower basal metabolic rate to increased life expectancy.[142][143][144] That is the key to why animals like giant tortoises can live so long.[145] Studies of humans with life spans of at least 100 have shown a link to decreased thyroid activity, resulting in their lowered metabolic rate.

In a broad survey of zoo animals, no relationship was found between investment of the animal in reproduction and its life span.[146]

The starting point for calculating life expectancy is the age-specific death rates of the population members. If a large amount of data is available, a statistical population can be created that allow the age-specific death rates to be simply taken as the mortality rates actually experienced at each age (the number of deaths divided by the number of years "exposed to risk" in each data cell). However, it is customary to apply smoothing to iron out, as much as possible, the random statistical fluctuations from one year of age to the next. In the past, a very simple model used for this purpose was the Gompertz function, but more sophisticated methods are now used.[147]

These are the most common methods now used for that purpose:

While the data required are easily identified in the case of humans, the computation of life expectancy of industrial products and wild animals involves more indirect techniques. The life expectancy and demography of wild animals are often estimated by capturing, marking, and recapturing them.[148] The life of a product, more often termed shelf life, is also computed using similar methods. In the case of long-lived components, such as those used in critical applications: in aircraft, methods like accelerated aging are used to model the life expectancy of a component.[8]

The age-specific death rates are calculated separately for separate groups of data that are believed to have different mortality rates (such as males and females, and perhaps smokers and non-smokers if data are available separately for those groups) and are then used to calculate a life table from which one can calculate the probability of surviving to each age. In actuarial notation, the probability of surviving from age x {displaystyle x} to age x + n {displaystyle x+n} is denoted n p x {displaystyle ,_{n}p_{x}!} and the probability of dying during age x {displaystyle x} (between ages x {displaystyle x} and x + 1 {displaystyle x+1} ) is denoted q x {displaystyle q_{x}!} . For example, if 10% of a group of people alive at their 90th birthday die before their 91st birthday, the age-specific death probability at 90 would be 10%. That is a probability, not a mortality rate[clarification needed].

The expected future lifetime of a life age x {displaystyle x} in whole years (the curtate expected lifetime of (x)) is denoted by the symbol e x {displaystyle ,e_{x}!} .[a] It is the conditional expected future lifetime (in whole years), assuming survival to age x {displaystyle x} . If K ( x ) {displaystyle K(x)} denotes the curtate future lifetime at x {displaystyle x} ,

Substituting k p x q x + k = k p x k + 1 p x {displaystyle {}_{k}p_{x},q_{x+k}={}_{k}p_{x}-{}_{k+1}p_{x}} in the sum and simplifying gives the equivalent formula:[149] e x = k = 1 k p x . {displaystyle e_{x}=sum _{k=1}^{infty }{},_{k}p_{x}.} If the assumption is made that on average, people live a half year in the year of death, the complete expectation of future lifetime at age x {displaystyle x} is e x + 1 / 2 {displaystyle e_{x}+1/2} .

Life expectancy is by definition an arithmetic mean. It can also be calculated by integrating the survival curve from 0 to positive infinity (or equivalently to the maximum lifespan, sometimes called 'omega'). For an extinct or completed cohort (all people born in the year 1850, for example), it can of course simply be calculated by averaging the ages at death. For cohorts with some survivors, it is estimated by using mortality experience in recent years. The estimates are called period cohort life expectancies.

It is important to note that the statistic is usually based on past mortality experience and assumes that the same age-specific mortality rates will continue. Thus, such life expectancy figures need to be adjusted for temporal trends before calculating how long a currently living individual of a particular age is expected to live. Period life expectancy remains a commonly used statistic to summarize the current health status of a population.

However, for some purposes, such as pensions calculations, it is usual to adjust the life table used by assuming that age-specific death rates will continue to decrease over the years, as they have usually done in the past. That is often done by simply extrapolating past trends, but some models exist to account for the evolution of mortality like the LeeCarter model.[150]

As discussed above, on an individual basis, some factors correlate with longer life. Factors that are associated with variations in life expectancy include family history, marital status, economic status, physique, exercise, diet, drug use including smoking and alcohol consumption, disposition, education, environment, sleep, climate, and health care.[10]

To assess the quality of these additional years of life, 'healthy life expectancy' has been calculated for the last 30 years. Since 2001, the World Health Organization has published statistics called Healthy life expectancy (HALE), defined as the average number of years that a person can expect to live in "full health" excluding the years lived in less than full health due to disease and/or injury.[151][152] Since 2004, Eurostat publishes annual statistics called Healthy Life Years (HLY) based on reported activity limitations. The United States uses similar indicators in the framework of the national health promotion and disease prevention plan "Healthy People 2010". More and more countries are using health expectancy indicators to monitor the health of their population.

The long-standing quest for longer life led in the 2010s to a more promising focus on increasing HALE, also known as a person's "healthspan". Besides the benefits of keeping people healthier longer, a goal is to reduce health-care expenses on the many diseases associated with cellular senescence. Approaches being explored include fasting, exercise, and senolytic drugs.[153]

Forecasting life expectancy and mortality form an important subdivision of demography. Future trends in life expectancy have huge implications for old-age support programs like U.S. Social Security and pension since the cash flow in these systems depends on the number of recipients who are still living (along with the rate of return on the investments or the tax rate in pay-as-you-go systems). With longer life expectancies, the systems see increased cash outflow; if the systems underestimate increases in life-expectancies, they will be unprepared for the large payments that will occur, as humans live longer and longer.

Life expectancy forecasting is usually based on two different approaches:

Life expectancy is one of the factors in measuring the Human Development Index (HDI) of each nation along with adult literacy, education, and standard of living.[155]

Life expectancy is also used in describing the physical quality of life of an area or, for an individual when the value of a life settlement is determined a life insurance policy is sold for a cash asset.

Disparities in life expectancy are often cited as demonstrating the need for better medical care or increased social support. A strongly associated indirect measure is income inequality. For the top 21 industrialized countries, if each person is counted equally, life expectancy is lower in more unequal countries (r = 0.907).[156] There is a similar relationship among states in the US (r = 0.620).[157]

Life expectancy is commonly confused with the average age an adult could expect to live. This confusion may create the expectation that an adult would be unlikely to exceed an average life expectancy, even though, with all statistical probability, an adult, who has already avoided many statistical causes of adolescent mortality, should be expected to outlive the average life expectancy calculated from birth.[158] One must compare the life expectancy of the period after childhood, to estimate also the life expectancy of an adult.[158] Life expectancy can change dramatically after childhood, even in preindustrial times as is demonstrated by the Roman Life Expectancy table, which estimates life expectancy to be 25 years at birth, but 53 years upon reaching age 25.[159] Studies like Plymouth Plantation; "Dead at Forty" and Life Expectancy by Age, 18502004 similarly show a dramatic increase in life expectancy once adulthood was reached.[160][161]

Life expectancy differs from maximum life span. Life expectancy is an average for all people in the population including those who die shortly after birth, those who die in early adulthood (e.g. childbirth, war), and those who live unimpeded until old age. Maximum lifespan is an individual-specific concept maximum lifespan is, therefore, an upper bound rather than an average.[158] Science author Christopher Wanjek said "has the human race increased its life span? Not at all. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about old age." The maximum life span, or oldest age a human can live, may be constant.[158] Further, there are many examples of people living significantly longer than the average life expectancy of their time period, such as Socrates (71), Saint Anthony the Great (105), Michelangelo (88), and John Adams, 2nd president of the United States (90).[158]

However, anthropologist John D. Hawks criticizes the popular conflation of life span (life expectancy) and maximum life span when popular science writers falsely imply that the average adult human does not live longer than their ancestors. He writes, "[a]ge-specific mortality rates have declined across the adult lifespan. A smaller fraction of adults die at 20, at 30, at 40, at 50, and so on across the lifespan. As a result, we live longer on average... In every way we can measure, human lifespans are longer today than in the immediate past, and longer today than they were 2000 years ago... age-specific mortality rates in adults really have reduced substantially."[162]

a. ^ ^ In standard actuarial notation, ex refers to the expected future lifetime of (x) in whole years, while ex (with a ring above the e) denotes the complete expected future lifetime of (x), including the fraction.

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Life expectancy - Wikipedia

Given that life expectancy at birth is highly sensitive to the rate of death in the first few years of life, it is common to report life expectancy figures at different ages, both under the period and cohort approaches. For example, the UN estimates that the (period) global life expectancy at age 10 in 2005 was 63.6 years. This means that the group of 10-year-old children alive around the world in 2005 could expect to live another 63.6 years (i.e. until the age of 73.6), provided that mortality patterns observed in 2005 remained constant throughout their lifetime.

Finally, another point to bear in mind is that period and cohort life expectancy estimates are statistical measures, and they do not take into account any person-specific factors such as lifestyle choices. Clearly, the length of life for an average person is not very informative about the predicted length of life for a person living a particularly unhealthy lifestyle.

In practical terms, estimating life expectancy entails predicting the probability of surviving successive years of life, based on observed age-specific mortality rates. How is this actually done?

Age-specific mortality rates are usually estimated by counting (or projecting) the number of age-specific deaths in a time interval (e.g. the number of people aged 10-15 who died in the year 2005), and dividing by the total observed (or projected) population alive at a given point within that interval (e.g. the number of people aged 10-15 alive on 1 July 2015).

To ensure that the resulting estimates of the probabilities of death within each age interval are smooth across the lifetime, it is common to use mathematical formulas, to model how the force of mortality changes within and across age intervals. Specifically, it is often assumed that the proportion of people dying in an age interval starting in year and ending in year corresponds to , where is the age-specific mortality rate as measured in the middle of that interval (a term often referred to as the central death rate for the age interval).16

Once we have estimates of the fraction of people dying across age intervals, it is simple to calculate a life table showing the evolving probabilities of survival and the corresponding life expectancies by age. Here is an example of a life table from the US, and this tutorial from MEASURE Evaluation explains how life tables are constructed, step by step (see Section 3.2 The Fergany Method).

Period life expectancy figures can be obtained from period life tables (i.e. life tables that rely on age-specific mortality rates observed from deaths among individuals of different age groups at a fixed point in time). And similarly, cohort life expectancy figures can be obtained from cohort life tables (i.e. life tables that rely on age-specific mortality rates observed from tracking and forecasting the death and survival of a group of people as they become older).

For some countries and for some time intervals, it is only possible to reconstruct life tables from either period or cohort mortality data. As a consequence, in some instancesfor example in obtaining historical estimates of life expectancy across world regionsit is necessary to combine period and cohort data. In these cases, the resulting life expectancy estimates cannot be simply classified into the period or cohort categories.

Life tables are not just instrumental to the production of life expectancy figures (as noted above), they also provide many other perspectives on the mortality of a population. For example, they allow for the production of population survival curves, which show the share of people who are expected to survive various successive ages. This chart provides an example, plotting survival curves for individuals born at different points in time, using cohort life tables from England and Wales.

At any age level in the horizontal axis, the curves in this visualization mark the estimated proportion of individuals who are expected to survive that age. As we can see, less than half of the people born in 1851 in England and Wales made it past their 50th birthday. In contrast, more than 95% of the people born in England and Wales today can expect to live longer than 50 years.

Since life expectancy estimates only describe averages, these indicators are complementary, and help us understand how health is distributed across time and space. In our entry on Life Expectancy you can read more about related complementary indicators, such as the median age of a population.

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Life Expectancy - Our World in Data

Longevity Investors Conference brought together high level scientists, clinicians and investors who all agreed on one big goal: Bringing the concept of longevity to life. Longevity experts and visionaries joined the conference, such as George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School; Aubrey de Grey, chief of science offices at SENS Research Foundation; Brian Kennedy, director at Center for Healthy Longevity and professor of the biochemistry and physiology departments at National University of Singapore; Charles Brenner from Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation and chair of diabetes and cancer metabolism at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope; Christian Angermayer, founder of Apeiron Investment Group; Eric Verdin, president and CEO of Buck Institute for Research on Ageing; Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Ageing Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Michael Greve, founder of Forever Healthy Foundation; Evelyne Yehudit Bischof, associate professor, internal medicine specialist and longevity physician at Human Longevity Inc.; Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine; Phil Newman, founder of First Longevity and editor-in-chief at Longevity.Technology; Wei-Wu He, executive chairman at Human Longevity Inc., chairman and CEO of CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc. and chairman and founder of Genetron Health; and many more.

Longevity Investors Conference, being the most exclusive conference for longevity investors, brought together over 130 investors from around the globe. The investors as well as the speakers had the chance to see the Startup Showcase that took place on Day One of the conference in partnership with Phil Newman from Longevity Technology. The Startup Showcase provided the chance to some of the most promising longevity startups to present their work and ideas, such as Tom Weldon, founder, chairman and CEO of Ponce De Leon Health; Nikolina Lauc, co-founder and CEO of GlycanAge; Stan Watowich, founder and interim CEO of Ridgeline Therapeutics; Owen Phillips, CEO of BrainKey; Nika Pintar, co-founder and CEO of Ani Biome; and Bruno Balen co-founder of Ani Biome.

The venue, Le Grand Bellevue Hotel in Gstaad, recently rated the Hotel of the Year by Swiss media, was privatized for the LIC guests ensuring an exclusive networking experience. There were many networking opportunities over the course of the two days during the networking dinners and lunches and especially during coffee breaks and receptions held in the Longevity Lounge, where guests could get the exclusive chance to experience the latest trends in longevity therapies and treatments from exhibitors.

The ending of the Longevity Investors Conference was marked by a gala dinner, during which the Maximon Longevity Prize Award Ceremony took place. Elisabeth Roider, partner and chief scientific and medical officer at Maximon explained from a scientific point of view that translation efforts from computational biology to wet lab approaches to clinical trials are needed on the way. Many small steps will be required while the big picture should be in place. The prize is especially important, as it highlights the effort that is needed to identify safe and new ways to target ageing, the need for large clinical trials, which investigate the effect of interventions on ageing, and the importance of mental health, platforms and AI in future longevity medicine.

Marc Bernegger, one of the driving forces behind the conference, said: There are more and more traditional investors joining the longevity space, which creates massive investment opportunities. The special setup of this years conference enables not only knowledge exchange but also effective community-building, which is very unique for the industry and has never happened before to this extent. Berneggers partner and LIC co-founder, Dr. Tobias Reichmuth, added: The longevity industry will be one of the biggest investment opportunities over the next decade, expected to be worth at least $600 billion by 2025. It is experiencing a great momentum, and this is the ideal time to use it in favor of educating and spreading the information to investors. In an ocean of scientific-oriented conferences, a professional and global investor-focused longevity conference such as LIC provides an opportunity for the industrys top investors and innovators to get acquainted with recent developments and breakthroughs.

The next Longevity Investors Conference will be held in the Autumn of 2023. Participation is open for registration on the website.

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The Longevity Investors Conference Gstaad brought together longevity experts and deep-pocketed investors - Cointelegraph

halioua began 2020 with $5.1 million in funding. By way of thanks she sent all of her investors, including Rosen, fluffy toy puppies wearing company bandanas. She secured an office on the edge of downtown San Francisco, but the lease began in March, the same month the Bay Area became the first part of the US to enter pandemic lockdown. Her companys formative months, and first hires, took place via Zoom, Slack, and eventually socially distanced meetups. Halioua raised another $6 million and hired scientists, veterinarians, and an expert in getting new animal drugs past the FDA.

She embraced the role of dog company CEOpainting a mural of a giant German shepherd in Loyals office and ordering shirts with the slogan Save the dogs, save the world. She adopted a fluffy white husky named Wolfie, whom she has described as her cofounder and Loyals chief evangelist. Her management style, she says, was informed by her bad experiences at Oxford. When she talks to her team about her goals or beliefs, she tries to pair her statements with evidence to convince her workers that the boss is being straight with them. Even if you dont trust me, you still know this is true, she says.

Haliouas new science team, including a scientist who previously led aging research at pharma giant Regeneron, helped refine her original idea. They identified a compound they believed could be given to young dogs of the largest breeds, such as French mastiffs, to delay their accelerated aging process. They found a second compound they thought could target processes that cause cognitive decline and kidney problems in older dogs of all sizes.

As her company gained traction, Halioua noticed certain patterns in her business interactions. She tried to recruit women investors but found it difficult because there werent many to ask. When she met with investors who were men, some would try to flip a business meeting into a date, and others would confidently explain science to her that she knew inside out. Mostly she brushed off such momentsher time at Oxford had lowered her expectations of those with more power and prestige than her.

She often felt different. Describing herself as an Oxford dropout helped convince people to take her seriouslynever mind that she had left her PhD in part due to dissatisfaction with a harassment investigation, a circumstance missing from the dropout tales of archetypal boy geniuses like Mark Zuckerberg. She listened to hundreds of Silicon Valley podcasts to try to learn the industrys patois. She trained herself to smile less and wrote in a blog post aimed at women entrepreneurs: I come off as more of a grump now, but I am a grump who has the money she needs to build her company.

In the spring of 2021, Halioua published a blog post about her Oxford PhD supervisor titled The Gifts of My Harasser, leaving him nameless. She described the paradox of one of her worst experiences laying a foundation stone for her later successes by teaching her to be skeptical of social hierarchies and institutional power. Its been two years since I left. I am not broken anymore, but I still feel the cracks, she wrote. His abuse shattered my preconceived notions of how the world worked and cleared a path I otherwise never would have found.

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The Search for a Pill That Can Help Dogsand HumansLive Longer - WIRED

In ESC Heart Failure, researchers have commented about the correlation between a poor gut microbiome and aging of the heart [1].

Research increasingly suggests that the quality and composition of the gut microbiome may play a role as important as exercise on health. The gut microbiome is a living ecosystem that is made up of many types of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes. It plays an important role in health by aiding digestion, regulating the immune system, and supporting many other beneficial processes.

The relationship between the gut microbiome and immune system is a two-way street, with each supporting the other. The immune system ensures that helpful beneficial bacteria thrive while keeping populations of harmful bacteria down.

Unfortunately, as with many things during aging, the immune system goes into decline in a process called immunosenescence. This makes the immune system less able to respond to invading pathogens and maintain the health and diversity of the microbiome.

This is likely one of the reasons why microbiome health also tends to decline with age. Populations of beneficial bacteria dwindle, while harmful, pro-inflammatory bacteria begin to grow in numbers.

The commentary we want to highlight today sees researchers discussing the correlations between the presence and numbers of specific types of gut bacteria and the aging of the heart.

Changes in cardiac structure and function occur with ageing and may lead towards ageing-related cardiovascular disease. Recent explorations into intestinal microbiota have provided important insights into shifts in microbial composition that occur in response to cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. Several proposed mechanisms include altered gut permeability, endotoxemia, and the systemic effect of metabolites including trimethylamine (TMA), short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and secondary bile acids. However, causal associations between gut microbes and left ventricular (LV) function have yet to be proven. We sought to determine whether gut microbial composition is associated with left ventricular myocardial relaxation, an early manifestation of myocardial ageing, among older adults.

While the size of this study is small, the data is still interesting and suggests that there is at least some correlation between gut microbiome health and heart aging.

The ideal situation would be to run a larger study of this kind to confirm the correlation and potentially look at interventions to address it. A crude but demonstrated way to improve the microbiome is the use of fecal transplantation, in which the microbiome from younger healthy individuals is transferred to older ones. Seeding the aged gut with beneficial bacteria via probiotics may be another approach worth exploring.

One thing is certain: the role of the gut microbiome in aging is becoming increasingly appreciated. Some researchers even suggest that it could be an additional reason why we age, though the jury is still out as to whether it is a cause or a consequence of one of the established aging processes.

[1] Wong, J. J., Purbojati, R. W., Tan, R. S., Pettersson, S., & Koh, A. S. (2022). Distinct gut microbiota composition among older adults with myocardial ageing. ESC heart failure, 10.1002/ehf2.14139. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.14139

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Aging of the Heart Correlates With a Poor Gut Microbiome - Lifespan.io News

Results from the study evaluating AditxtScore for neutralizing antibodies ("NAb") were published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology

RICHMOND, Va., October 12, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aditxt, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTX) ("Aditxt" or the "Company"), a biotech innovation company developing and commercializing technologies with a focus on monitoring and modulating the immune system, today announces publication of a mathematical model for predicting the durability and rate of decay of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in a peer-reviewed research paper in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.

Titled, "A mathematical model of the within-host kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies following COVID-19 vaccination," the publication describes a model developed with Dr. Lisette de Pillis, a professor of life sciences and mathematics at Harvey Mudd College.

NAb inhibit viral binding to the human cell receptor thereby reducing its ability to infect the cell. Evaluating NAb levels and their durability over time is important in understanding unique immune responses and the likelihood of an individual having protective immunity against infection, the researchers state. AditxtScores model uses a novel flow-cytometry-based immune monitoring tool to determine levels of NAb following immunization.

The publication details a promising mathematical model that can serve as a foundation for predicting the decay rate of NAb over time. The model can assess variations in immune response against viral infection and vaccination to provide the opportunity for a more personalized approach to immunization protocols.

Knowing an individuals NAb level and how ones personal immune system responds to infection provides a valuable tool for health care providers and patients as they chart an individuals current and future health care needs.

Researchers concluded there are several potential applications for the AditxtScore model, including:

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Determining immune response on a case-by-case basis to identify vulnerable populations;

Aiding vaccine development by reducing clinical trial timelines and identifying vaccines that lead to a more robust immune response; and

More accurately assessing the timing of boosters on a personalized level.

To read the AditxtScore research paper published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519322002715

About Aditxt, Inc.

Aditxt is a biotech innovation company developing and commercializing technologies with a focus on monitoring and modulating the immune system. Aditxts immune monitoring technologies are designed to provide a personalized immune profile. Aditxts immune reprogramming technologies, currently preclinical, are being developed to retrain the immune system to induce tolerance to address rejection of transplanted organs, autoimmune diseases, and allergies.

For more information, please visit: http://www.Aditxt.com and http://www.AditxtScore.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's ongoing and planned product and business development; the Company's intellectual property position; the Company's ability to develop commercial functions; expectations regarding product launch and revenue; the Company's results of operations, cash needs, spending, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies; the industry in which the Company operates; and the trends that may affect the industry or the Company. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, as well as market and other conditions and those risks more fully discussed in the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221012005475/en/

Contacts

ir@aditxt.com http://www.aditxt.com

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Aditxt, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTX) Announces Development and Publication of a Mathematical Model for Predicting Longevity and Variations of Immune Response...

MINNEAPOLIS, October 12, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FOXO Technologies Inc. (NYSEAM: FOXO), a technology platform company whose products and services seek to address long-standing, core problems within the life insurance industry through epigenetic longevity science, today announced that its insurance distribution subsidiary, FOXO LIFE, recruited its first distribution partner, California-based BGA Insurance, to begin rolling out Life Insurance Designed to Keep You Alive to agents across the state. FOXO also announced the appointment of James Grauel, Jr. as Chief Distribution Officer ("CDO") of FOXO LIFE to spearhead the launch of longevity-focused life insurance products with independent agents.

FOXO LIFE is partnering with leading independent insurance agencies across the United States who share its vision and goal of modernizing the industry. Grauel joins the team with decades of experience working in the life insurance industry from both the carrier and independent agent distribution viewpoints. As CDO, Grauel will manage the development of FOXO LIFEs network of independent agents selling longevity science-powered life insurance.

"I am thrilled to join a team that is building the most exciting thing Ive seen in this industry over the course of my career," said Jim Grauel, Jr., Chief Distribution Officer of FOXO LIFE. "Creating more value for life insurance consumers by aligning their healthy longevity with the natural financial interest of life insurance carriers is an incredible and obvious innovation the industry needs."

FOXO LIFE will be holding its first agent distribution rollout events in Southern California with BGA Insurance, its first broker-general agent, who represents over 4,000 independent agents who are now able to sell life insurance products with FOXO LIFEs Longevity Report.

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"We are excited to work with FOXO LIFE to bring our agent base the opportunity to reframe the life insurance conversation from death protection, to life, health, and longevity," said Barry Zimmerman, President. "The real game changer will be when FOXO LIFE introduces saliva-based underwriting protocols to mitigate the need for blood and urine specimen collection."

FOXO LIFEs first agent recruitment events will be held:

October 19th in Huntington Beach

November 1st in San Diego

November 2nd in Los Angeles, El Segundo

November 3rd in Sacramento, Roseville

For agents interested in attending an event contact Alicia at sales@foxolife.com or 888.405.8957.

"We like to say that FOXO LIFE was created by agents, for agents," said Jon Sabes, Founder and CEO of FOXO. "This means that the products and services we are bringing to market are designed to address major industry pain points that fall most directly on agents. Making it easier and more exciting for agents to sell life insurance is our first order of business."

Todays news comes four weeks after FOXO became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange American under the symbol "FOXO" via its merger with Delwinds Insurance Acquisition Corp ("Delwinds"), valuing the combined company at an estimated enterprise value of $369 million.

About FOXO Technologies Inc. ("FOXO")

FOXO is a technology platform company focused on commercializing longevity science through products and services that serve the life insurance industry. FOXO's epigenetic technology applies AI to DNA methylation to identify molecular biomarkers of human health and aging. FOXO seeks to modernize the life insurance industry by simplifying the consumer underwriting journey with saliva-based biomarkers and enhancing life insurances consumer value proposition with the FOXO Longevity Report. For more information about FOXO, visit http://www.foxotechnologies.com. For more information about FOXO LIFE, visit http://www.foxolife.com. For investor information and updates, visit https://foxotechnologies.com/investors/.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed transaction. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or an exemption therefrom.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements for purposes of the "safe harbor" provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements other than statements of historical fact contained herein, including statements as to future results of operations and financial position, planned products and services, business strategy and plans, objectives of management for future operations of FOXO, market size and growth opportunities, competitive position and technological and market trends, are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but not limited to, expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects, financial results or strategies regarding FOXO and the future held by management teams of FOXO, the future financial condition and performance of FOXO and the products and markets and expected future performance and market opportunities of FOXO. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "estimate," "future," "intend," "strategy," "may," "might," "strategy," "opportunity," "plan," project," "possible," "potential," "project," "predict," "scales," "representative of," "valuation," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risk that changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which FOXO operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting FOXOs business, and changes in the combined capital structure, (ii) the ability to implement FOXOs business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, (iii) potential inability of FOXO to establish or maintain relationships required to advance its goals or to achieve its commercialization and development plans, (iv) the enforceability of FOXOs intellectual property, including its patents and the potential infringement on the intellectual property rights of others, and (v) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive biotechnology industry or in the markets or industries in which FOXOs prospective customers operate, including the highly regulated insurance industry. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" filed with the SEC, and risks and uncertainties indicated in the Registration Statement, including those set forth under "Risk Factors" therein, and other documents filed or to be filed by FOXO from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and FOXO assumes no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221012005349/en/

Contacts

Contacts / Investor Relations Cody Slach, Matthew HauschGateway Investor Relations(949) 574-3860FOXO@gatewayir.com

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FOXO Technologies Announces First Distribution Partner and Begins Product Rollout in California; Expands Executive Team With Insurance Industry Talent...

Dr. Irving Berkowitz, the son of Holocaust survivors, is a renowned scholar and lecturer. He is passionately engaged in issues and causes related to the Holocaust, antisemitism, human rights and social justice. I have heard Dr. Irving lecture on several occasions, and recently had the opportunity to interview him. This is Part One of a two part series.

I started our conversation by asking Dr. Irving why raising awareness of social injustice is such a passion of his.

My passion for social justice, equal protection, non-discrimination and equality of opportunity is rooted in the very proud, deeply observant, socially aware and tragic history of my Jewish family. I am the son of immigrants, survivors of one of the worst atrocities in human history, the Holocaust. Having lost my entire extended family in the largest and most infamous of all Nazi death camps, Auschwitz/Birkenau, for no other reason than being Jewish. From an early age I had a mission that was spiritual and educational, to actively lead, serve and become educated, so I could educate others about antisemitism, racism, hatred, and violence. Both of my parents were not only Holocaust survivors but, like 75% of all survivors they were the sole survivors of their entire families in the former Czechoslovakia. This very personal family tragedy and the cataclysmic fate of my tribe, the Jewish people, loomed large in my life and briskly animated me to learn all that I possibly could about my people, including Jewish history, theology, and culture. I forged an inexorable and uncompromising commitment to becoming a Holocaust scholar with a deep well of knowledge about this longest hatred of Jews throughout history. It was upon this foundation that my interest and activism evolved to encompass the broader issues of the human condition, (e.g. human rights, human diversity, human dignity, and human development).

Dr. Irving explained why some people continue to deny that antisemitism exists.

Jew hatred has roots that run centuries deep in the soil of history. Its intensity, longevity and universality may only be exceeded by its irrationality. From its provenance in the early days of Christendom, throughout the Middle Ages when Jews were persecuted, isolated and expelled from virtually every European country they inhabited, during the pervasive pogroms of the 18th and 19th centuries, to the annihilation of European Jewry far and wide in the Nazi era, Jews have been scapegoated, blamed, brutalized and murdered en masse for others misfortune. There seems to be nothing evil for which Jews cannot be blamed. Indeed, everything evil is Jewish and everything Jewish is evil. This is most evident in countless daily Anti-Zionist/Antisemitic websites and posts across all major social media platforms despite supposed community standards designed to monitor and restrict content that is false, hateful, racist and violence inducing.

Dr. Irving continued, The denial of antisemitism is nearly as outrageous as the denial of the Holocaust. It flies in the face of irrefutable evidence amassed by the Anti-Defamation League that antisemitism in America, especially violent hate crimes, is not only on the rise but has reached record levels in the last three years, suggesting that deniers simply deny the undeniable. Perhaps more disconcerting than denial is the fact that so many dismiss antisemitism as a serious social issue, unworthy of the kind of attention garnered by other forms of bigotry such as racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, etc. Perhaps it has become so ingrained in the fabric of American society that seeing and or hearing of omnipresent antisemitic incidents has become normalized. Either way, antisemitism in America, Europe and elsewhere is not a thing of the past, vanquished with the fall of the Third Reich. It may have taken a brief sabbatical after the war but remains a pernicious and persistent virus coursing through the bloodstream of civilization, exacerbated by pervasive silence, denial and indifference.

I asked Dr. Irving, what can be done to curb or eliminate Holocaust denial on social media?

Few can argue about the enormous social, economic and cultural benefits of social media today. But just as obvious as its auspicious uses, is the weaponization of social media to deny, distort and revise history, to subvert the truth, to propagate and promote false narratives and stereotypes, and to advance an intolerant, dogmatic and fractious far left or far right agenda against Jewish people, communities, organizations and institutions. This, in my opinion, is how social media platforms are being used as flamethrowers of disinformation in the contemporaneous war against the Jews and the Nation/State of the Jewish people. The challenge of curbing the venomous role of social media in stoking Anti-Zionism, antisemitism and Holocaust denial may be formidable but not indomitable.

The most obvious, effective and strategic means of confronting this juggernaut is as follows:

1) Jews must rise above their own political and other differences, even forging coalitions with other targeted and affected ethnic or religious groups to create a sustained campaign of advocacy for more vigorous, consistent and equitable enforcement of community guidelines.

2) The captains of these social media giants must be confronted with their own organizational and employee biases and complicity in fomenting hate, violence, discrimination and denial through lax enforcement of their own published standards, particularly albeit not exclusively in relation to inauthentic, hate-filled, violence-inducing content they permit to be posted about Jews, Israel and the Holocaust. We must be uncompromising about the Holocaust, the most documented atrocity in human history, as a matter of historical fact, open neither to debate nor denial.

3) Finally, enforcement of community standards must be followed by swift and certain action holding those who abuse and/or flagrantly violate such policies accountable by expeditious removal of such harmful Antisemitic content. For those who regularly post Holocaust denying or endorsing material, social media companies must be willing to exercise the ultimate sanction, blocking or disabling accounts and account holders.

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Dr. Irving expressed why Holocaust awareness is so important.

The value of Holocaust knowledge to Jews and non-Jews can best be appreciated when weighed against the cost of Holocaust ignorance. In less than 80 years since the worst genocide in history ended, surveys conducted in America and Europe have shockingly revealed a frightening low level of interest in and knowledge of the Holocaust. Even more concerning is the fact that among millennials and Generation Zrs, few have any knowledge of what concentration camps such as Auschwitz were or how they were used as factories of death.

Nearly half of this demographic havent a clue that 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust. It is unconscionable to think so many know so little about an unparalleled atrocity such as the Holocaust. This prodigious lack of Holocaust knowledge resulting principally from the failure of most states to mandate Holocaust education lends an unpalatable measure of credence to the belief that this could happen again. In my opinion, the relevance of Holocaust knowledge is universal, not merely because it was the genocidal culmination of a racist ideology, in this case, antisemitism, but especially because the Holocaust is not exclusively a matter of Jewish history, but human history.

Dr. Irving continued, Learning about the Holocaust exposes and challenges us to understand the darker side of humanity, the motivation and capacity of people and societies to discriminate, dominate, segregate, subjugate and annihilate any racial, religious, ethnic or national group. Learning about the Holocaust raises our awareness of the ideological, political, economic, psycho-social and historical factors and forces that spawn conditions in which hatred, scapegoating, prejudice and persecution lead to state-sponsored violence and mass murder. It demonstrates how even the most enlightened, cultured and civilized society(ies) can turn to barbarism and genocide against a devalued and dehumanized segment of their population. This, in turn, allows us to highlight the perils of radical extremist ideologies and the central role of a propaganda apparatus in galvanizing hatred and rationalizing a campaign of genocide. On the level of human behavior, it enables us to grasp the many different choices people made and the roles they played in response to the unspeakable horrors committed by nefarious leaders and their obedient followers.

In conclusion of Part One of our conversation, Dr. Irving was asked what message he tries to pass on to young adults?

The core of my teaching and message to young people is the importance of doing good things. Be a lifelong learner, or as I say of myself, be a student of life and for life.

In Part Two of my conversation with Dr. Irving, he will share details of his career as an educator and lecturer.

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A conversation with Holocaust scholar Dr. Irving Berkowitz - South Florida Sun Sentinel

NEW YORK, NY and SANTA BARBARA, CA The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research are pleased to announce the recipients of the2022 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral FellowshipsinAgingResearch.Thisprogramsupportspostdoctoralfellowswhostudybasicresearchmechanisms of aging and/or translational findings that have potential to directly benefit human health.

Selected through a rigorous review process,nine,one-year,$60,000Postdoctoral Fellowshipshavebeenawarded this year to advance research on a range of topics in the biology of aging, geroscience, and potential therapeutics:

"The fellowships significant research and training support to permit postdoctoral fellows to develop skills and competencies needed to become established in the field of aging, " notes Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director of AFAR. "With this recognition, and the ability to develop an independent research project, they are more competitive when vying for coveted junior faculty positions and when applying for larger grant support."

Theseawardsprovidepostdoctoralfellowstheopportunitytodevelopindependentresearchprojects, notes Mark R. Collins, President of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research. Their findings today will help deepen knowledge, foster collaborations, and further therapeutic interventions tomorrow.

Learn more about this grant programhereand the 2022 recipientshere.

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About the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research- Founded by Paul F. Glenn in 1965, the mission of the Glenn Foundation for MedicalResearchistoextendthehealthyyearsoflifethroughresearchonmechanismsofbiologythatgovernnormalhumanaging and its related physiological decline, with the objective of translating research into interventions that will extend healthspan with lifespan. Learn more atglennfoundation.org.

AboutAFAR-The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the fields talent incubator, providing more than $193 million to nearly 4350 investigators at premier research institutions to dateand growing. In 2022, AFAR is expected to award over $11,000,000 to more than 60 investigators. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and interdisciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delayor even preventmany chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too lateor too earlyto improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of lifeat any age. Learn more atwww.afar.orgor follow AFARorg on Twitter and Facebook and American Federation for Aging Research on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Nine postdoctoral fellowships in aging research awarded by the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR - EurekAlert

Staying on top of your overall health and wellness game as you grow older is not a question; it's a necessity. Self-care experiences, fitness routines that promote longevity, facials that put the glow back in aging skin, and anti-aging beauty products that promise to deliver results are all the rage, because people want to remain youthful for as long as possible. Living a long, healthy life may require more than a few tweaks to your regular routine, but don't stress. We've put together the wellness habits that slow down aging so you don't have to. Keep reading to learn more.

Getting your namaste on is not only relaxing; it can slow down the aging process. Many studies reveal that practicing yoga has a wealth of health benefits, including positively impacting cellular aging, balance, mobility, and mental health, along with warding off cognitive decline. These are all things that raise concerns among older individuals.

For example, a study published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity reveals that doing yoga for 12 weeks can slow down cellular aging among healthy individuals. Another study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience discovered that embarking on a yoga and meditation retreat for three months was linked to decreased stress and inflammation.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The next of the best wellness habits that slow down aging has to do with diet. According to Blue Zones, a Mediterranean diet can decrease your chance of developing heart disease and tack up to six years onto your life. It's what individuals in Ikaria, Greeceone of the Blue Zones, where many individuals live to 100 and beyondstick by. If you're unfamiliar with this diet, get familiar, because it's a golden key to longevity! The Mediterranean diet is all about olive oil, fresh veggies, whole grains, beans, some fish, and tinier portions of meat and dairy.

And research backs up just how great the Mediterranean diet is. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, research shows this particular diet can lengthen your lifespan and promote healthy aging.

Related: The Best Exercises To Live to 100 and Beyond, Trainer Reveals

You've likely heard this before, but preserving and building muscle mass as you get older is critical. According to Harvard Health Publishing, after you hit the age of 30, you start to lose anywhere from 3% to 5% of lean muscle mass every 10 years. This natural part of your body's aging process is called sarcopenia.

What can you do about it? Well, Landmark reports consuming protein, getting in strength training (specifically two to three half-hour workouts each week, after speaking with a medical professional), adding more omega-3s to your diet, keeping your vitamin D levels in check, and going on walks can all help preserve muscle mass.

Related: 5 Exercise Habits to Slow Muscle Aging, Trainer Reveals

Getting social is a major part of your health and wellness that shouldn't be overlooked. According to Mayo Clinic, socializing helps kick any feelings of loneliness to the curb, along with boosting your cognitive and memory skills, mood, and overall wellness. It can even help extend your life.

Mayo Clinic psychologist, Dr. Craig Sawchuk, explains, "We are social animals by nature, so we tend to function better when we're in a community and being around others." He says that people who spend much of their time by themselves have a greater chance of feeling depressed and leading an all-around lower quality of life.

Getting sufficient sleep is imperative to your overall wellness. According to News in Health, getting restful Z's can boost your mood and brain performance. Some say it's just as important to ensure you stay in good health as a solid workout routine and diet. Not getting enough solid sleep can put you at greater risk of developing disorders or diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, dementia, and stroke.

Sleep researcher at the University of Colorado, Dr. Kenneth Wright, Jr., explains, "There are certain repair processes that occur in the body mostly, or most effectively, during sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, those processes are going to be disturbed" (via NIH).

According to sleep expert at NIH, Dr. Marishka Brown, three key factors attribute to "healthy sleep." She says, "One is how much sleep you get. Another is sleep qualitythat you get uninterrupted and refreshing sleep. The last is a consistent sleep schedule."

Alexa Mellardo

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The 5 Wellness Habits That Slow Down Aging, Science Reveals Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That