Can people really live long?

From the moment we are born, we are getting old. In the chain of life, people always die inevitably. But is it possible to delay this death process? If we can't live forever, then we should be younger, right? Modern science makes this wish possible, and some scientists even predict that people can live to be over 100 years old. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of such a long life? Almost everyone wants to live forever, and alchemists are eager to find the elixir of life. It has always been the oldest and most desired dream of mankind to be healthy and permanent, to have a lasting face and to be full of vitality forever. Now, after countless failures and disappointments, some scientists say that they are finally close to this goal. Although it can't make people live forever, it can at least make people live for decades. Scientists say this is a modern miracle. It is not achieved by drinking the magical water of rebirth or changing anything, but by scientific cognition-for example, after mastering how age affects the cellular and molecular levels in our bodies, we can make people live longer through scientific methods.

Whether it is possible to produce the effect of immortality through gene recombination or technical methods-this method has been successfully tested on flies, earthworms and mice.

Recently, several studies show that people's life span can be extended far beyond the usual age. Cynthia Kane, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, extended the life span of a nematode from two weeks to one month, that is, the life span of the nematode doubled. In addition, by changing a gene called DAF-2, scientists not only prolonged the survival time of nematodes, but also made them as healthy as a week-old nematodes. Genes may be the key to longevity. All mammals have two similar genes, and scientists mutated one of them, which increased the life span of a mouse by 18% (that is, 4.5 months). The other gene is called IGF- 1. Researchers haven't figured out how it affects people's health. However, if its function is slowed down, the life span of mice can be increased by 33% (that is, 8.6 months) when the average life span of mice is 26 months. Scientists in the United States and Italy have found that the mutation of a genetic gene in mitochondrial DNA may be one of the reasons for longevity. These scientists studied 52 centenarians in Italy and found that 17% of them had a genetic variation called "C 150T transfer". The comparative analysis of 1 17 subjects under the age of 99 shows that the probability of the same genetic variation among them is only 3.4%. This is the first time that humans have found that centenarians have such obviously different genetic markers compared with young people.

It was also found that the genetic variation of "C 150T transfer" can change the location of mitochondrial DNA replication. It is speculated that this may accelerate the process of mitochondrial DNA replication, and may even make it easier for people to update genetic material damaged by aging. Scientists say that the proportion of this genetic variation in centenarians is more than five times that of ordinary people, which means it may promote longevity. Since experiments and surveys have yielded optimistic longevity predictions, as long as we continue to work hard and find scientific methods, people will live to 140 or even older one day.

Nowadays, some scientists are studying the possibility of delaying, inhibiting aging and even changing the time course. However, ethicists and policymakers are debating whether it is wise to do so. Anyway, if scientists could invent a pill that would make you live twice as long as you do now and not get old, would you take it? If we only consider the benefits of longevity to singles, then the answer is a bit like a brainless person: people can spend more wonderful time with their loved ones; You can see more offspring grow up; I can learn new languages, master more musical instruments, try different careers and travel to more places in the world. However, what if we consider the impact of longevity on the whole society? Will it be good for society for everyone to live twice as long? This question is very pertinent and is one of the main controversial issues. In recent years, people have been debating this issue at the conference on longevity and health held in Arizona, USA.