Physical immortality is a long-standing dream of humanity. For no matter how much the great religious teachings tell us that death is just a transition to another world, the fact of the matter is that you do not want to cross. The vast majority of people who live are quite happy with this world. In addition, any religion is based on faith, and not everyone is capable of believing. Give us knowledge and proof. Which is already the prerogative of science. What does she say about this? Will we ever be able to live forever, or even for a very, very long time?
They grow up to a hundred years without old age
Physicians and biologists argue that life does not at all imply mandatory dying, and bodily immortality is possible.
Seven immortal species of animals and plants have been discovered on Earth. Of course, this is not absolute immortality - they can die from disease or hunger, they can be destroyed. But death from old age does not threaten them. These include, for example, sea anemones or hydras. Among the trees, the aspen-shaped poplar or, in common parlance, the Canadian aspen, which reproduces by cloning, is practically immortal. All these species are characterized primarily by continuous growth. The Galapagos tortoise lives for more than one hundred and seventy years - and dies of hunger, because it can no longer budge its own shell. Crocodiles, snakes, fish grow continuously. A tomato familiar to everyone in nature is a vine, which can live as long as it wants in favorable conditions. The age of Nevada bristlecone pines is approaching 5,000 years, the sequoia lives for 3,000 years. The Canadian aspen mentioned above is generally unknown how many, because the oldest of them today is more than 80 thousand years old, and the tree feels great. It is also impossible to determine the age of some mosses. But continuous growth has its drawbacks: the tree, for example, becomes too fallen, and the animal loses its mobility.
The human body also has tissues that grow continuously - primarily hair and nails. The top layer of the skin is constantly renewed. There are organs that can regenerate to their full volume after losing a significant fragment - for example, the liver, thyroid and pancreas. Bones regenerate, skin with shallow damage, blood is renewed. And even nerve fibers - albeit to a very small extent.
But in general, all living organisms are arranged in such a way that nature has to go to the tricks, just to make them die. After all, there is no specific gene that would be responsible for death.
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Why do we age and die?
Mortality is an evolutionary skill acquired for survival. In order for the species to survive, each individual individual must be given full-fledged offspring as soon as possible - and immediately free up living space for him without encroaching on resources. In most warm-blooded animals, after the end of the reproductive period, intensive aging begins. This is practically a prerequisite for the survival of the species in the harsh conditions of the wild.
In most of the cells that make up the tissues of our body, a "biological clock" is ticking. The chromosome ends in a fragment called the telomere. During cell division, the telomeres are not completed completely, each time losing a small piece. When the telomere is depleted, the cell loses its ability to divide. This number of divisions allowed is called the Hayflick limit. For the cells of most human tissues, it is 52. So why do we age?
The shorter the telomere, the slower the genes in the immediate vicinity work. Namely, these genes are responsible for the repair (repair) of cells. Thus, a cell that has exhausted its stock of divisions becomes not only incapable of further reproduction, but also of self-repair. Meanwhile, cells in the body do not live in a safe environment. The cell is attacked by viruses, bacteria, free radicals, radiation, mutated proteins and countless other enemies. A young cell is quite capable of not only repairing damage, but even healing DNA mutations. The old cell endures helplessly. And in the end he dies.
Can you replace it? Yes, you can. For this, in our body, there are several types of cells in which the division limit has not been established. For example, stem cells that can transform into any tissue. This is our regeneration resource. After transformation into a certain type of tissue, the former stem cell loses the ability to eternally divide and lives, like all its neighbors.
In theory, if the mechanisms of aging were limited to telomeres and the accumulation of damage, we would live forever - at the expense of our stem cells. But the wise and cruel nature has provided for something else.
The older the cell, the slower and less it works. Moreover: with age, every single process in the body slows down. The immune system responds later and not always as it should. Cases of autoimmune attacks are increasing - when, as a result of a false signal, immune cells destroy healthy tissue. The defense mechanisms that protect the cell membranes do not work.
Scientists have failed to find a gene responsible for slowing down intracellular processes. Apparently, the command to die comes from a single center - from the brain.
Let's live long
Gerontologists, geneticists, physicians and biologists are unanimous on only one thing: a cure for death will be found only when the cause of natural dying is finally established. Some admit that such a cause may not exist at all, others argue that natural death occurs due to a combination of causes, and treatment for it should be complex. Like any other fatal disease.
The renowned gerontologist Aubrey de Gray claims that old age is a disease and must be treated like a disease. His approach impresses with its engineering simplicity and consistency. There are exactly seven reasons for cell death. And each of these seven causes can be fought with medical technology. The experiments continue, and Aubrey de Gray promises to give concrete results in 10-20 years, arguing that already in this century, life up to 150 years will become the norm. Well, let's see. There is a suspicion that there will be no end to volunteers who want to try his methods on themselves.
Great hopes are also associated with hormonal therapy, with stem cell therapy, with nanotechnology, and primarily with the use of medical nanorobots. But these technologies will not become available to everyone tomorrow or even in ten years.
And right now, for each of us, the usual recommendations of doctors are suitable for maintaining health. Low-calorie diet, healthy lifestyle, stress avoidance, prevention of chronic and infectious diseases. Physical activity should be reasonable, and habits such as smoking or heavy drinking should be forgotten once and for all.
If, of course, you like living.
Svetlana Prokopchik