Longevity 'start-ups'

[Science Solitaire] We want to tame our own bodies because we want to outlive our own ailments

When doctors need to see you intimately without having to cut through you, they subject you to magnetic fields 30,000 stronger than what the Earths magnetic field generates. They put you through a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. The stupendous strength of those magnets cause your bodys atoms to align and send radio frequency signals that the machine translates into a digital image of the nooks and crannies in your body where no eye has ever gone before.

Those magnets are so strong that every precaution is taken so that any metal in your body is taken out (if they could be taken out; otherwise you do not get into the machine) before you get into the machine lest they come flying off in speeds that could hit you or anyone in the MRI room which defeats the purpose of the entire medical exercise.

What could motivate humans to create such machines that magnify powers of an entire planet and concentrate it on a singular photo exploration of a human body? And that is only the MRI machine. Think of the other powerful medical tools that we have come up with.

Yes, we want to tame our own bodies because we want to outlive our own ailments. And underneath that wellness mantra, we all know that we do this based on a deeper drive. The thing is, we have tasted what its like to be alive and we want more so we take it on our own hands and stretch our lives, like pulling gum we have been chewing for a while. You dont need to tell your doctor this when you go to her for a treatment. She shares this sentiment with you.

And it has worked! But it has not yet stretched the gum of our lives to infinity and beyond. Humans are living longer than ever before in their entire history but everyone we knew or knew of has conked out at some point doing that stretch. Living up to a 100 is still the exception that we celebrate centenarians and hold them up simply by having lived that long regardless of how that life has been lived. We usually give in to the probability that length must equal quality of living. We give them bonus points for stamina because we also know the load that the years throw, regardless of who you are.

If you want to have a closer look at what humans have been trying to stretch their own lifespans and healthspans, including the incredible successes and failures, you may want to read Bill Giffords Spring Chicken (Stay Young Forever or Die Trying).

I was listening to NPRs interview of him about his book and it was insightful and hilarious. He talked about someone named Seguard who in 1889 declared that he has found the elixir of youth, which he concocted by using, among other strange parts, crushed dog testicles and semen which he injected into himself. It was said that he lived 4 or 5 years more since he inflicted himself with the concoction and one of his claims was he regained distance urination which is something very few of us may have in mind as one of the highlights of living forever more.

Gifford explored what I want to characterize as longevity start-ups, like those who use growth hormones, those who starve themselves consistently by lessening their intake or by fasting. He even looked into scientists who have studied fascinating creatures who can live up to the equivalent of a 600-year old woman without ever reaching menopause!

But amid these incredible quests, this is what we know and have proven so far to be true. Our bodies are wired to start giving up once we are past the reproductive stage. This is because that is the only plan they have: to keep the genes moving along. Our cells, once raging to renew and divide when we are young, get tired through the years. Some of them get to be cantankerous and drag their cell mates along with them. How long or quickly this happens seems to depend on a lot on what you inherited from your parents: genes. Other than that, eating just right and consistent and consistent exercise seem to be the only boring, yet proven effective, ingredients of the elixir that we yearn for.

See original here:
Longevity 'start-ups'