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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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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