Science And Ageing

If you're waiting for science to come up with the solution to slow down the ageing process and increase how long humans live, don't hold your breath: you could die waiting. Two main approaches seem to be being pursued.

One of those relates to Telomeres - the ends of the chromosomes, containing our genetic material. Ageing is said to be caused when the telomeres become too short when they divides into two or more daughter cells. Scientists have proven that longer telomeres in human are correlated with longer life span.

Longevity in mice can be induced by artificially elongating their telomeres. But humans aren't mice. We may have cured mice of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, paralysis, and a host of other diseases, yet, we're far from applying those same cures in human beings. So, there have been no actual experiments as yet to show that artificial telomere elongation can actually affect human life span.

The other relates to genetic engineering as a way of producing more follistatin - a protein that encourages muscle growth. This treatment has already been proven on human beings suffering from muscular atrophy, but not in relation to anti-ageing. So, for genetic engineering to work for us, it seems that all we need to do is genetically engineer ourselves.

An American Company (BioViva) is looking for volunteers for its next human genetic engineering experiments, but these treatments are illegal in many countries because genetic engineering treatments involve tampering with your own genes. This form of genetic vandalism (messing with your DNA) can lead to the creation of a cancerous tumor. And guess what? Treatments haven't been tested on humans, yet.

So, the message seems to be that, before risking ruining your health on untested treatments, hold your horses. Surely immortality is worth waiting for.