This chapter investigates lifestyle choices and scientific advancements that may enhance human longevity, including exercise, plant-based diets, and cutting-edge treatments like stem cell therapy and young blood transfusions. It highlights the biological complexities of aging, emphasizing cellular processes and the potential risks of anti-aging interventions, while also discussing the motivations behind wealthy investments in longevity research. The narrative further explores calorie restriction and its implications for aging, alongside the ethical considerations surrounding the usage of drugs like rapamycin in pursuit of extended life.
Humans have always been obsessed with getting old, or rather staying young, and now science is beginning to catch up. Longevity has become a hot topic from university laboratories to Silicon Valley startups. In the second of a special Science Weekly three-part mini-series on ageing, Ian Sample talks to Venki Ramakrishnan, winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry and author of the book Why We Die. Venki outlines the most promising scientific advances in the field of longevity and discusses the more unusual ways that the wealthy are trying to extend their lives, from blood transfusions to cryonics. Help support our independent journalism at
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