Can human lifespan be extended? (QOTD #5)
This is how scientists are developing new and innovative ways to extend the human lifespan.
By Kaitlyn Liu
For centuries, humans have dreamt of achieving immortality. However, with the natural process of senescence and the existence of numerous sicknesses on Earth, this prospect of eternal life was just unachievable. No one could have imagined that this fantastical dream was much closer than expected… According to researchers studying health and human lifespan, it will soon be possible to prolong human life beyond its current limit of 120 years. Humans may be able to climb the first step towards immortality with these improved treatments.
What is Aging?
The simple definition of aging is the gradual process of becoming older; it results from years of cellular and molecular damage which accumulate over time. In order to extend human life, one must slow the aging process or perhaps even reverse it. Currently, modern medical science has already helped to slow aging through improved healthcare. These advances ensure that humans nowadays receive proper nutrition and sanitation to lead a long, healthy life.
Healthspan
Healthspan refers to the period of life when one is free from serious diseases and illness that impact lifestyle. Some scientists believe that by extending healthspan, one can also prolong human life. Others believe that researchers should shift their focus entirely from lifespan extension to healthspan extension. These are certainly reasonable theories since diseases and disabilities tend to pile up at the end of extremely long lifespans.
Lifespan vs Life Expectancy
Lifespan and life expectancy are two terms that individuals often confuse. Life expectancy is the average time a person can expect to live. It is merely an estimate and can easily be influenced, negatively or positively, by changes in diet or exercise. On the other hand, lifespan refers to the maximum number of years a person can live. It is defined by the longest recorded human life (currently 122 years) and cannot be as easily extended through a change in lifestyle. So the question is, how can one prolong the human lifespan?
Ways to Extend the Human Lifespan
While slowing the aging process may increase life expectancy, it does not affect the maximum human lifespan since the human body will eventually deteriorate over time. That is why most studies being conducted extend and maintain healthspan which scientists, as previously mentioned, believe leads to prolonged lifespan. There are many methods, both biological and technological, that scientists are exploring in hopes of extending lifespan in humans.
1. Anti-Aging Drugs
Studies record several drugs that seem to have promising anti-aging effects:
Rapamycin is a drug that doctors prescribe to patients to prevent the growth of certain types of cancer. In experiments, it has been effective in extending the healthspan of both male and female mice by about 20 percent. Therefore, there is a possibility that this drug may deter age-related illnesses and in turn, increase lifespan. However, it has yet to be tested for long periods of time.
Acarbose is another drug with anti-aging effects. Doctors commonly administer acarbose to treat diabetes since it slows down food digestion and keeps blood sugar levels in check. Scientists are currently experimenting with the effect of acarbose on laboratory mice; Most conclusions show fair results with lifespans of male mice extended by about 22 percent and female mice by 5-10 percent.
With further development, these drugs can potentially extend the years of healthy living and fight off diseases associated with aging, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart attacks.
2. Calorie Restriction Diets
A calorie restriction diet reduces the amount of food intake while ensuring the consumption of all the necessary nutrients. Studies have proven that these diets can increase the maximum lifespan of mice by up to 50 percent. If scientists discover a way to implement this method into humans, one could potentially live to be over 100, yet only have the same disabilities as an 80-year-old. However, it is very difficult for an individual to reduce their calorie intake so drastically. Therefore, calorie restriction diets can only serve as a model for further study into healthspan and aging.
3. Mind Uploading
Mind uploading, in simplest terms, is transferring the contents of a human brain into a computer. The basic idea consists of conducting a thorough scan of an individual’s brain and constructing a computer model so similar that it will behave in the same way as the original brain. With this technology, a person could exist way beyond their time, although there are many debates concerning whether a copy of a mind could be considered life extension. According to a TED talk featuring Robin Hanson, mind uploading would require three things, all of which are currently underdeveloped.
- Many cheap, fast, parallel computers
- A way of scanning individual human brains
- Computer models
Although very promising, there are many doubts and ethics involved in this method with some critics going as far as to say mind uploading would just create a clone rather a continuation of one’s consciousness.
4. Telomere Elongation
A telomere is a structure at each end of a chromosome that protects genetic information in the chromosome. Each time a chromosome divides during cell division, the telomeres become smaller. As one ages, telomere length decreases and eventually becomes so short that it hinders cell division. When this occurs, the cell dies off, which increases the risk of diseases and affects our health. Due to this, scientists have begun studies on reversing the shortening of telomeres in hopes of slowing the aging process. Although telomere lengthening has not been proven in humans, experiments conducted on laboratory mice show successful signs of reversed aging. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about telomere elongation and its side effects, which may increase the risk of certain diseases such as cancer.
Although scientists have devised many methods to increase lifespan and extend human life, most of them require further research to be effective. However, with each additional study, the world takes one more step forward on the vast stairs to prolong human life.
Our Future
Extended lifespans may bring about an impact that could change society as we know it. For instance, if every person lived to 120 years or more, independence would become much harder for the young generation. Job openings may become scarce and housing prices would skyrocket as individuals occupy their positions for longer periods of time. In addition, prolonging human life will certainly be a costly operation. Would this service be available only to the wealthy or would governments lower costs to ensure affordability? And of course, there will always be the ethics involved in the debate.
Despite these doubts, one cannot deny that this process will become possible with the help of advanced and constantly evolving technology. Living to be 100 years may seem astonishing at the moment, but perhaps it will become a minor accomplishment in a few decades. The age of feeling pressed for time and fear of death will be cast into the past as science introduces a new prospect—that aging may not be inevitable.