Last week I wrote an article about centenarians and how they have attained that title. This week I want to talk more specifically about the cellular level of fighting ageing and the diseases that come with it.
Today scientists can easily extend certain animals' lifespans, like those of mice, worms, and monkeys. The research in this area of longevity has found many exciting things that can someday soon be applied to humans. Some ways scientists have succeeded in doubling, tripling, and even increasing lifespans nine times longer than normal in animals, are by: calorie restriction, certain drugs, and even blood transfusion from young specimens to old.
Calorie restriction without malnutrition in mice can increase their lifespan by nine times. This is thought to be because the restricted consumption of calories keeps the bodies of mice in a survival mode which slows the metabolism down and keeps their prisoner cells (part of DNA) from releasing. Studies show that prisoner cells are released at an older age in animals and humans,
and once released, the body starts decaying, which is aging, and eventually you die, so if they can keep the prison cells locked up then the mice live much longer.
Some scientists have used drugs to increase the lifespans of mice. These drugs increase the lifespan 25 percent or higher. The science behind this is being funded by millionaires and billionaires and is soon going to be tested on humans. The drugs kill cancer cells and prevent other age-related diseases at the cellular level. There are at least 20 different drugs that scientists have proven to prevent aging and diseases within mice and also increase the lifespan of mice who already have diseases by four times. They have combined them, and some combinations of the drugs make a more effective concoction, creating better results.
Another way, and one of the more interesting ways scientists have discovered an increase in the lifespans of mice, is the transplantation of blood from younger specimens to older specimens. The result is that the older mice experience increases in many functions of their body including: better vision, three times more neurogeneration, heightened energy levels, faster injury recovery, more physical endurance, etc., all from the blood of a younger specimen. This is incredible considering the many uses this could have for humans' worst sickness, aging. This has been being carried out in humans the last few years, more particularly with Alzheimer's victims.
I hope this article has given you even more insight on longevity and your pursuit of becoming a centenarian. Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming weeks.
