Longevity: The Battle of Aging as Disease

Two things in life are certain: death and taxes. Or so the saying goes. A growing number of scientists are chipping away at the very foundations of death to unlock the science of aging. New understandings of the limits of cellular replication and senescence, the impacts of infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2 virus on cellular aging, detailed clocks to monitor biological aging, and much more are joining an exploding body of evidence that age may be just a number after all.

Breaking the Ties That Hold Us Down

Usual suspects: Chronic inflammation, heart disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer.

Like tiny Lilliputian scars, as we age, our cells accumulate damage from wear and tear, disease, and trauma. Life takes its toll. Yet the majority of us will not meet our end from “old age” or “natural causes.” As a person alive today, 3 in 5 of us will die from chronic inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, and 1 in 6 will die from cancer, 1 in 9 will die from neurodegenerative disease, and (depending on which outbreaks or pandemics are occurring at the time) millions will die each year from a roster of infectious diseases. Making matters worse, chronic diseases including HIV can cause accelerated aging and increased disability, morbidity, and mortality.