The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Get Ready To Live Past 100

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by Aaron Saenz on March 8th, 2010
living past 100

Peggy McApline went paragliding on her 100th birthday. What will you do with yours?

The fastest growing age group in the industrialized world is the centenarian club. Pushing past 100 used to be a rare feat, but most demographic studies agree that by 2030 there will be about a million of us enjoying the three digit lifestyle. Those studies don’t even count on the revolutionary longevity treatments we could develop in the next 20 years. We could hit that million mark much sooner, and we may start getting people past the 150 or even 200 mark. Either way, baby-boomers are going to become elder-boomers and before that happens we all need to take a crash course on what it means to live to be really really old. Turns out, it’s not that bad. Judging by the centenarians scientists have studied all over the world, living beyond 100 isn’t about slipping into decrepitude. A good portion of these elders live independent, happy lives without long suffering illnesses. How can you live past 100? Well, for now becoming a centenarian is a much about luck and love as it is about lifestyle. As technology advances, it could be about choice.

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Want To Live Forever? Better Hope You Have the Right FOXO3A Gene

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by Aaron Saenz on February 19th, 2010
foxo3a gene longevity

A common gene variant is found in many centenarians. It could explain how some live past 100 despite their lifestyle.

German researchers at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel recently confirmed that variants of the FOXO3A gene are a common characteristic for many people who live past 100. The CAU team studied 380+ centenarians, more than 600 people in their 90s, and more than 700 60-75 year olds to determine how prevalent these gene variations were. They found that not only were certain FOXO3A variants very common in 90 year olds, they were even more common in 100 year olds, emphasizing the importance of genetics for aging well. The CAU work confirms earlier research performed by J. Wilcox that found FOXO3A variants among Japanese American centenarians. Both papers were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). CAU has a partner group in France that showed similar results there. Taken together, these studies suggest that FOXO3A may be a global factor for longevity. While none of these teams have worked to extend human life per se, understanding FOXO3A variations may eventually lead to genetic treatments to help us all live past the century mark.

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Newly Found “Secrets To Aging” Are Over Hyped

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by Aaron Saenz on February 16th, 2010
old-people-mad

Sorry guys, no secrets to aging yet. Don't buy the hype.

Recent work in Newcastle, UK and at the University of Ulm, Germany has been toted as discovering the “secrets to aging” but is really just another small step in understanding why our bodies wear down. The research was published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, picked up by the Telegraph and then redistributed by the usual lot of copy and paste news feeds. Using human cells, mouse cells and computer simulations, the British-German team explored the mechanism that produces cell senescence – the state in which a cell stops dividing and eventually dies. They found a certain protein pathway was responsible for cells with damaged DNA becoming senescent. That’s a cool bit of science, but it’s not the “secret to aging” and its lightyears from a cure for aging. Unfortunately, journalists can’t sell “scientists take another steady step in large complex problem that may not be solved for decades”, so we’re left with an over-hyped, misunderstood development. Which is a shame, because the Newcastle-Ulm group actually made some interesting discoveries.

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New Documentary on the End to Aging Premiers Feb 11th (Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on January 31st, 2010

I learned most of my philosophy from 70s rock ballads, so I know that all we are is dust in the wind. Still, film director Robert Kane Pappas dares to ask who wants to live forever. In his new documentary, To Age Or Not To Age, Pappas has gathered some of the most brilliant minds in longevity and seeks to show how the science of aging has made huge leaps in understanding in the last twenty years. The film will be premiered in New York on February 11th followed by a panel discussion with some major names in the field: Aubrey de Grey, Robert Butler, Leonard Guarente, and Gordon Lithgow. If you don’t live in NYC, don’t worry. The event will be simulcast to theaters across the US.  The panel discussion will also be available online so you can watch for free later. While the trailer for the film is less than awe-inspiring (click on the photo to watch), a clip from the movie seems more promising. Check it out after the break.

to age or not to age trailer

Click on this photo to see the trailer.

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Two New Studies Cast Doubt on Resveratrol

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by Aaron Saenz on January 19th, 2010
doubts about resveratrol

To drink or not to drink...unfortunately that's still the question.

New work produced by Pfizer and Amgen cast doubt on the manner in which health supplement resveratrol is said to work. Resveratrol is a substance found in moderate quantities in red wine, and is believed to help prevent the negative side effects of aging. As we discussed in our previous article about resveratrol, prominent researchers supposed that it worked by activating a certain gene, SIRT1. This activation is thought to produce the benefits of a caloric restriction diet even among those with high fat and high caloric intake. In the October 2009 volume of Chemical Biology and Drug Design, Amgen offered experimental results that indicate resveratrol does not, in fact, activate SIRT1. Pfizer, in the January 2010 volume of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, offers similar results, showing that resveratrol (and related substances such as SRT1720) do not active SIRT1 and did not reduce blood sugar in mice fed a high fat diet. This last effect (or lack thereof) is in direct contradiction to previous resveratrol research published by David Sinclair of Harvard University in Nature. To simplify: Pfizer and Amgen are saying that resveratrol doesn’t work in the way people thought, and may, in fact, not work at all.

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Disabling a Single Gene Extends Mice Life by 20%

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by Aaron Saenz on October 7th, 2009
Calorie restriction helps mice live longer. Now, scientists ca rewrite their genes to accomplish the same thing.

Scientists have disabled a single gene to mimic the benefits of Caloric Restriction in mice.

We’ve known for a while that severely limiting your dietary intake, while somehow still managing to get all your necessary nutrients, can extend lifespan dramatically. Caloric Restriction (CR) can increase a mouse’s lifespan by about 50%. Of course, no one wants to eat less so scientists have been pursuing other avenues to achieve CR benefits. We’ve told you about one such possible route: the use of resveratrol, which may (or may not) work. A recently published article in Science discusses another. Dominic Withers from the University College of London extended the lifespan of female mice by 20% using a technique to disable one of their genes. Not only did these mice live longer, they showed greatly improved health at middle age. Withers and his associates may have discovered a genetic fountain of youth.

Life extension has a lot of advocates, notably the Methuselah Foundation and Aubrey de Grey whom we discussed earlier. Most would agree that we need two types of approaches to achieving longevity: a technique that could be applied to people who are already old, and a technique that could be applied from birth or earlier. Withers’ genetic manipulation would be one of the latter. With a single genetic tweak, humans conceivably could be modified in vitro to live longer and healthier. Furthermore, that tweak could become germline (that is, passed on to offspring) so that all future generations of humans had the same longevity. Withers’ work could be the start of a new era of humanity.
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Mprize: Your Children Could Be Immortal

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by Aaron Saenz on October 6th, 2009
Will scientific advancements in treating aging let our children eventually live forever?

Will scientific advancements in treating aging let our children eventually live forever?

If living forever isn’t enough motivation to get scientists to study longevity, maybe $3.8 million will work instead. That’s the current size of the Mprize, a special fund put forth by the Methuselah Foundation that seeks to encourage research into extending healthy human life. The prize is awarded to those scientists who can increase the lifespan of lab mice in the hopes that work performed on that species can be readily applied to humans. Can we live longer? Do we even want to? When will the average human life expectancy start to increase by more than a year each year? The Methuselah Foundation’s answers are yes, yes, and much sooner than you might think. Check out Aubrey De Grey’s discussion of longevity at TED 2005 in the video after the break. He’s very enthusiastic to say the least.

The history of offering a cash prize to help motivate research has a long and successful history. Mariners were finally able to determine their longitude at sea thanks to the aptly named Longitude Prize offered by the British government. Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight was in direct response to the Orteig prize. The modern day Xprize is inspiring new achievements in genomics, space flight, lunar exploration, and transportation efficiency. With the Mprize, the Methuselah Foundation may very well bring about a surge in the interest in increasing human lifespans within the next generation. As Aubrey De Grey points out, once human lifespans start increasing by an appreciable amount, further medical developments will occur during that lifespan increasing it even farther. We could eventually reach a sort of lifespan escape velocity and reach immortality. De Grey has since coined the concept as the Methuselarity. Catchy, huh?
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Study: Elderly With Less Vitamin D More Likely to Die

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by Aaron Saenz on September 28th, 2009
Adequate levels of vitamin D may make the elderly three times less likely to die of heart disease.

Adequate levels of vitamin D may make the elderly three times less likely to die of heart disease.

In case you were wondering about whether or not to take that walk outside today, a new study has shown that vitamin D is linked to lower death rates among the elderly. The University of Colorado Denver, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) recently published findings that patients over 65 with low levels of vitamin D are three times more likely to die of heart disease than their peers with adequate amounts. The same group was two and half times more likely to die no matter the cause. Holy crap! This research makes it sound like not taking vitamin D supplements is a guaranteed death sentence.

The study was quite appropriately published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, but it could have wider implications outside of geriatrics. Vitamin D’s ability to prevent heart disease and stroke could be useful for those in middle age or younger. UC Denver and MGH also completed an earlier study (in the Archives of Internal Medicine) that demonstrate how vitamin D could boost the immune system against colds and flu. The National Institute for Health is currently ramping up VITAL, a five year study to determine the effects of long term use of supplements of vitamin D and fish oil. VITAL is going to be huge.

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World’s Oldest Person Gertrude Baines Dies at Age 115

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by Aaron Saenz on September 15th, 2009

The oldest person in the world, Gertrude Baines, just died at age 115

The oldest person in the world, Gertrude Baines, just died at age 115

In the search for longevity, we tend to focus on healthy lifestyles, miracle supplements, or potential technologies. It’s easy to forget the people who have accomplished that goal seemingly without the intention to do so. Gertrude Baines, the oldest person on Earth, passed away in Los Angeles on Friday September 11, 2009, at the tender age of 115. That, my friends, is old. Her title passes on to Kama Chinen in Japan, age 114, and still going strong. These supercentenarians give us hope that the dream of living longer (maybe forever) is a possible one.

There are ‘Blue Zones‘ on Earth were people live longer, and those populations seem to have much in common. We see simple lifestyles devoid of unnecessary stress, good diets that focus on fruits and veggies (not meats and sugars), and plenty of daily exercise. Supercentenarians, however, are as much about statistical anomalies as they are about trends. They don’t seem to have a lot in common besides agrarian backgrounds (but we’re talking about the 1890s here) and gender (most are women). Apparently one of Ms. Baines favorite foods was bacon and eggs.

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Will Resveratrol Let You Live Forever?

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by Aaron Saenz on September 3rd, 2009

A lot of supplements sold online don’t have any medical research to support their claims. Resveratrol’s problem is that there is medical research to back up almost any claim you want to make about it. This organic compound found in red wine is supposed to help you fight aging, cancer, high blood sugar, Alzheimer’s, and inflammations, without having to change your diet or eat your vegetables. It’s a miracle! Or maybe it’s just a matter of miscommunication. Singularity Hub would like to walk you through the basics of resveratrol and help you decide if it’s full of hope or hype.

Does resveratrol work? Buyer beware...and be hopeful.

Does resveratrol work? Buyer beware...and perhaps be hopeful, too.

If a single supplement could do everything that resveratrol experiments suggest it can, you can bet everyone would be clamoring to take it. And many are. You can’t type ‘reserveratrol’ into a search engine without being bombarded by ads, and I’m guessing one or two may appear on this page right now. Before you buy you should ask yourself two questions: will this company actually be selling me a supplement containing reserveratrol? If so, would it actually improve my health?

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Will Fat Secret Become Wikipedia of Nutrition with New API?

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by Aaron Saenz on September 2nd, 2009
Fat Secret's new API is up and running.

Fat Secret's new API is up and running.

One day we are told that eating fats makes us fat. The next day we learn that carbs are made from pure evil, and that fats are angel tears. It’s hard to keep track of all the nutritional information that is constantly bombarding you from TV, print, and the Internet, but up and coming website Fat Secret is willing to try. It has been compiling information from the USDA, users, and brands to form a comprehensive database for everything food and exercise related. Earlier in August, Fat Secret launched their free API, set to allow almost anyone access to their data for quick and easy reference. It’s Wikipedia meets weight loss and it could change the way we perceive nutrition.

Fat Secret is onto something. We desperately need a resource that reviews, consolidates, and analyzes nutritional information. Not just because such a resource would be trustworthy. The open access, the ability for any website to provide a link and retrieve the correct data, is a valuable tool which will help everyone from doctors to dieters. Right now, who can you ask if you need to know the calories in a cup of almonds? Do you trust that source? If I jog 10 miles one day, how much more food should I eat? Can you find that answer quickly?

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CDC Report: Americans Living Longer, But Not As Long as Everyone Else

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by Aaron Saenz on August 26th, 2009

With the ongoing health care debate raging across the US, it’s good to know that we lived slightly longer in 2007 than in 2006. According to a report released on August 19th by the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, Americans reached a new peak in lifespan: 77.9 years. In fact, the last decade has given us a 1.4 year increase in our age at death. Yep, US citizens are living longer than they were just a few years ago, but they still aren’t living as long as almost any other developed country. How can we be getting better but still be lagging behind?

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) We aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) Why aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Almost half of all deaths (48.5%) in this country are due to heart disease or cancer. The overall death rates for stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer fell between 2006 and 2007, and lifespan rose as a result. It’s clear that those two culprits are what is keeping the US from the longevity it might otherwise have.

And longevity means a lot to us here at the hub. We’ve shown you surgical advances, and promising medical developments. We’ve given you a look at some of the oldest people in the world, and some of the healthiest places in the world. The one thing we’ve learned through it all is that the secret to a long life is really, really simple: lifestyle.

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