Life extension has been one of the biggest mysteries to solve throughout history, not only in America but all around the world. Throughout history, scientist tried different ways, through pills and injections, to master “life extension” and failed. However in recent studies, scientists have been trying to prolong the aging process so that humans can live up to an average of 150 years and with the advancement of technology, life extension has been becoming more realistic and more probable for mankind. Therefore, life extension will have a profound impact on the environment due to the sudden rise of the human population. Although, it may appear initially, as if life extension has a positive impact on the environment, the scientific results show …show more content…
InHumanExperiment, a blog spot about humans’ views toward life extension, explained how life extension is no doubt a desirable thing. They get to spend more time living a happy life by “traveling, spending more time with family, and just experiencing life in general” (“How Do People Feel About Life Extension?”). Life extension also helps the decline in mortality caused my curable sickness and diseases. Also according to InHumanExperiment, “the most commonly identified benefit was an increase in collective human wisdom and knowledge. The fact that important people such as doctors, scientists, etc. would be around for longer was also seen as a good thing” (“How Do People Feel about Life Extension?”). This proves that there would be more researches done to prevent different diseases. Even though that may be all true, living longer also means individuals are more likely to be susceptible to diseases due to old age and according to Dina Fine, an associate editor for Scientific American, life extension can also affect an individual directly because people with a sickness or a disease now, might live longer with the particular pain rather than dying naturally (Fine,
old age, is a risk or a benefit, and what is the true purpose of
-- Contrary to some clinical studies, there is inconclusive scientific evidence to support the theory of increasing a person’s lifespan
Humans undergo several stages during their lifetime including growth, development, reproduction and senescence. Senescence is defined as the deteriorative biological changes that organisms experience as they age eventually leading to death. These changes include low metabolism, a weak immune system, memory loss, poor vision and loss of hearing. Senescence begins in humans during their post-reproductive years. However, gerontology research has shown that individuals who reproduce late have longer life spans compared to individuals who reproduce early. Nonetheless, it does not indicate that senescence is inevitable. All organisms experience senescence, but at different rates and time. Many genetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease are prevalent in older individuals and the symptoms being to appear in middle adulthood. The causes of genetic diseases and disabilities in older individuals are explained by three evolutionary theories: antagonistic pleiotropy theory, mutation accumulation theory and disposable soma theory. These theories suggest that favorable natural selection and heavy allocation of resources for somatic maintenance during the reproductive period decreases the chances of genetic diseases in younger individuals.
Think of it this way, the longer the life expectancy, the longer the patient suffers.... ... middle of paper ... ... He was left blind and was slowly deteriorating. The pain was unrelenting.
Several hypotheses exist to explain the mechanism behind life extension due to caloric restriction (CR). Some of the earliest theories that never gained much support include the following: McCay’s original hypothesis that CR reduced the rate of growth and development and thereby increased lifespan; CR reduced metabolic rate which resulted in slower aging; and that the control animals used in the experiments eat significantly more than normal, which makes them age quicker than CR animals (Sinclair, 2005). It has since then been found that CR at any stage of life extends lifespan, and animals on CR show similar or greater metabolic rates than control animals, and the extension of life by CR is significant even when the study controls are fed a normal (not ad libitum) diet (Sinclair, 2005).
Death, this fear of end existence, had enthralled many people on the quest for prolonged longevity. Therefore, how do we extend our lifespan? Where is this “Fountain of Youth”? Although the latter question may forever remain a lucrative theory. Perhaps the answer to prolonged longevity may reside in a little known region of a chromosome, the telomeres.
Common sense seems to dictate that we are all going to die one day. As we all get older we crave to keep our youth, and to stay young forever is the ultimate dream. The thought of a possible immortality is just an added benefit. Even though we have strived towards this goal for centuries, have we obtained advances in successfully staying young forever? In Bill Gifford’s book “Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying)” he explores these ideas of life and aging further. In this novel, he goes on a journey to try and debunk the mysteries and questions behind the new science of aging. He gathers information from tests and scientists from around the country to discover what really works to prevent or delay aging and what is just a hopeful hoax. He helps us figure out why we age and why aging
You Gulubeva and R. I. Danilova, they believe that a healthy lifestyle plays a big component on longevity it is considered the one main key to this case. It is explained throughout the article that as long as you live a healthy life it allows or gives you the opportunity for your organism to be strong enough to live longer, a weak organism is not ideal to reach longevity. "Weakening of the physical and mental abilities of the organism with aging is gradual, and it's impossible to specify exactly when it begins, more over it depends not only on the individual abilities of the organism, but also on the social conditions in which a man lives. As well as degree of his activity, nutrition, and lifestyle". It's also described how there how the "healthy lifestyle" is not prompted yet enough to the elderly population, which can be an explanation as to why the elderly have a healthy dissatisfaction. It has been said by Russians and other foreign authors that the lack of health promotion education lacks room for the ability performance on improving and strengthening health. "The subject concept of health plays a bigger role in longevity than objective measures, so the idea of people about their health is more important than their health". Determinants are one of the things that get in the way of the elderly population, that makes it impossible for them to elongate their life's, for example social status, health status, physical performance, and their mental state. A research in Russia was performed and it was noticed that with the "help of psychical culture is due to necessity of such forms of organization that will consider the level of physical fitness development and state of health and promote the formation of values related to a health
The life expectancy in Europe and America averaged about 30 to 40 years in 1800 A.D. However, through medical breakthroughs this expectancy has increased double -75 years- in the last two hundred years. One important reason of this increase is the discovering of what causes diseases. The development of medical science in different ways has yielded so many advances in recognizing the pathogenic factors of diseases and how to fight with them. This progress has resulted significant alteration in the factors of premature death due to diseases (Medical Health tests
In conclusion, there are several benefits to thinking about ageing as a lifelong process, and not just as something which affects older people. Combating ageism at any age, celebrating the diversity amongst our ageing population, and the importance of having a healthier lifestyle in the present to prepare our bodies for the challenges posed by ageing are all valid strengths to this reasoning. It is also important to be able to relate these benefits in terms to your own experiences as this knowledge gives you a greater empathy with
To start with, scientific breakthroughs are necessary to improve human health and longevity. With the advancements in biotechnology there comes the opportunity to cure diseases that once devastated the population which allows for a healthier generation of people. For example, many vaccinations for diseases such as H1N1 have been popular in order to avoid being caught with the virus. Vaccinations have been used for years because of their ability to prevent diseases from spreading where they normally would have infected hundreds to thousands of people otherwise. This leads not only to a healthier majority of people but also healthier children/future generations thanks to the vaccinations. Additionally, such scientific breakthroughs help improve the lives of children who are born prematurely, such as myself. Without the advanced technology that was available a...
During the 19th and 20th century, a lot of people lived a really long life, some of them lived for one hundred, two hundred and even three hundred years. However, now in the 21st century, if a person lives for a hundred years, he is considered a living legend during these times. Moreover, the synthesis of new medications have also been researched but none of them work at all to increase a person's life expectancy. Do you want to live your life for a hundred years or even more? Although many new diseases have recently showed up, we can not blame those diseases. The choices we make affect the longevity of our lives.
SÍTAR, M.E., YANAR, K., AYDIN, S. and ÇAKATAY, U., CURRENT ASPECTS OF AGEING THEORIES AND CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO MECHANISMS. .
Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said, “Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today” (“Population,” Internet). With the current statistics, Jacques could not be more accurate. Every second, 4.2 people are born and 1.8 people die, which would be a net gain of 2.4 people per second (“Population,” Internet). At this steady rate, the environmental health is spiraling downwards, and it is safe to assume humans are responsible for this. As the population increases, harmful effects on the land, water, and air also do.
Technology in terms of medicine has also increased the life expectancy of the average person. With new technological advancements in surgeries, medicines and treatments the average life expectancy is still on the increase. A recent study shows that the average life span for 2004 of a United States Citizen is 77.4 years old. This has increased significantly from 1900 where the average lifespan for a male was 48.2 and for the female 51.5. Thanks to technology we can now live longer.