Is aging inevitable? Geneticist David Sinclair and longevity doctor Peter Attia don't think so... or at least they think it can be slowed down considerably via biology and technology.
Putting a molecule called NMN into these mice's water essentially reversed the aging process in about a week. Their muscles got stronger and faster and their blood flow increased.
Here's how it works: As we get older, our cells fail to make clean copies of themselves, leading to gray hair or weak joints or even cancer. Diet and exercise help keep us in good shape because stressing out cells by exercising and eating less produces a molecule--NAD--that spurs the reparation of genes when they get damaged. NMN is a booster that converts to NAD, helping prevent cellular information loss.
Now, the effects may not be the same on humans, however Sinclair subscribes to the belief that we should be treating aging like a disease--and the molecule that the mice got is now available to humans by means of nutritional supplements.
But what could the impacts of increasing the human lifespan be?
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- Overpopulation
- Increased retirement age
- Economy cannot keep that many people employed
- Politicians who shouldn't remain in power linger even longer
The list goes on. What implications do you see?
Source: Watch the video on NPR