Anti-senescence
February 26, 2006
Aha! Now here’s an article that is right down my alley. Senescence just isn’t much fun.
Ageing | How to live for ever | Economist.com
Humans are certainly living longer. An American child born in 1970 could expect to live 70.8 years. By 2000, that had increased to 77 years. Moreover, an adult still alive at the age of 75 in 2002 could expect a further 11.5 years of life.
Much of this change has been the result of improved nutrition and better medicine. But to experience a healthy old age also involves maintaining physical and mental function. Age-related non-pathological changes in the brain, muscles, joints, immune system, lungs and heart must be minimised. These changes are called “senescence”.
I just gotta ask: Why would I ever want to live forever? Why would I want to prolong the kind of fun and games that aging brings? Tell me! Why?
Research shows that exercise can help to maintain physical function late in life and that exercising one’s brain can limit the progression of senescence. Other work—on the effects of caloric restriction, consuming red wine and altering genes in yeast, mice and nematodes—has shown promise in slowing senescence.
On the consuming of red wine I will keep an open mind; as for the rest, well, it sounds to me like a lot of nonsense.
Dave, willing to let the mice and nematodes reap the benefits.
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