Since ancient times, the favorite dream of man has been immortality, not finding it in real life, people found consolation in religion, hoping that at least after death they will have eternal life. Now in the 21st century, someone still continues to believe in an afterlife, but there are those who live in the present day and try to find immortality in real life, and modern technologies help them perfectly in this. So, back in 2006, American scientists from Stanford calculated the gene responsible for aging. They are looking for the secret of eternal youth in Russia as well, but our scientists have chosen a slightly different path and are examining the human brain in search of areas responsible for aging.
Aging gene
Cases when a person looks much younger than his age are not so rare, there are even people who, having reached a certain age, stop growing altogether. The most striking example of this is the American girl Brooke Ginberg. At 17, her height is 76 cm with a weight of about 7 kg. In many ways, it was these unique individuals that prompted American scientists to think about the existence of the gene for old age, since only a violation of this gene could lead to the fact that Brooke Ginberg at seventeen looks like a two-year-old child.
To identify it, American scientists have done a tremendous job of studying a group of genes that decrease their activity as a result of aging, both in insects and animals, and in humans. As it turned out, the work was not done in vain, and in 2006 genes were discovered that secrete the less protein, the higher the age of the person (animal). These genes are part of the so-called "electronic transport chain", which ultimately affects the lifespan of every living creature on the planet.
Brooke Gibson (left) at age 16 with her 9-year-old sister
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At the moment, according to scientists, it remains only to find a way in which it will be possible that the release of protein by this group of genes will be constant and will not decrease over time. And then each person will be able to stop the aging process at any age and look exactly the same throughout life (or eternity).
Pineal gland and melatonin
As mentioned above, Russian scientists decided not to bother looking for the gene for old age, but focused on studying the pineal gland of the brain, many of whose functions are still not clear. After conducting research, scientists noticed that with age, the release of the hormone melatonin by the pineal gland gradually decreases. Also, the size of the pineal gland itself changes, so in children the pineal gland is almost twice as large as in the elderly.
Experiments carried out on experimental mice showed that the artificial introduction of melatonin significantly increased their life and slowed down the aging process, which gave a real reason for talking about the fact that melatonin can be a kind of elixir of youth. True, work on the study of the relationship between melatonin and pineal gland with aging is only at the very beginning and it is too early to say something more specific.
According to both Russian and American scientists, it will take at least another 20 years to complete the research, and only then will we be able to find out if immortality is just a pipe dream, or eternal life will indeed become a reality. However, it is necessary to think now what consequences this discovery can lead to. Overpopulation and hunger are the most obvious of them, and it is possible that there will be many more disadvantages from such a discovery than advantages.