Will Future Humans be Forever Young?
Age may eventually be just a number
Can we be young forever? What if we can be hale and hearty at the ripe old age of 500? Is it possible to be immortal?
These questions have plagued humanity since antiquity. Mythological figures that lived for ages or were immortal pepper all our cultures. Mesopotamian mythological hero Gilgamesh was in search of immortality. Biblical patriarch Methuselah lived to the ripe old age of 969. Ashwatthama in Indian mythology was immortal. The average human life expectancy also increased significantly in the last century. But, the increase is now slowing down. Have we hit a natural barrier? Is age-dependent decline a fundamental truth of nature? A part of our own biological imperfectness that can’t be overcome. Is there a max lifespan for humans? These are all questions, we used to think of as affirmative facts.
But, what if they are only unsolved questions? Aging like infections may only be a disease in search of a cure. Aging increases the likelihood of death while diminishing mental and physical capacities. We expect all organisms to age alike — each with their own life span. But, this is no longer true.
The naked mole-rats don’t “age”!
