Image: Pixabay/mcmurryjulie, modified by the author

The Science of Living Forever (or a Really, Really Long Time)

The modern quest for immortality, which began 30 years ago, aims to cure aging. But are we any closer after billions of dollars of research? And is there an upper limit to how long we can live?

Thirty years ago, scientists found a genetic quirk that doubled the lifespan of a lowly worm. The discovery, announced on Dec. 2, 1993, kickstarted the modern quest for human immortality or, at the very least, extreme longevity. The effort, championed by serious scientists and hype-prone futurists alike, has accelerated dramatically of late as vast fortunes pour into so-called “anti-aging” research aimed at developing a pill or therapy or mix of potions that would extend human life for decades or even centuries, or as idealists have framed the pursuit: forever.

And so, 30 years into this modern search for the fountain of youth, I set out to investigate a few key questions:

• Can aging be cured?
• How long can humans really live?
• What’s the true status of longevity research?
• Why aren’t we living longer yet?
• Would we even want to live forever?