A scientific approach: is it possible to live to be 200 years old?

Mankind has dreamed of eternal life for thousands of years, and in pursuit of this dream, people seem to have tried everything. Thanks to discoveries in health care and improved sanitation, today we are living longer than ever before. The average life expectancy on Earth is 72 years. These are not great numbers. And while “eternal youth” remains in our dreams, people do not think about its consequences. Will we be able to live forever, and what will happen then, we examine in our article.

Is it possible to live to 200 years?

In order to extend your life, it is necessary to stretch the whole aging process. After all, what fun is the 200th birthday if the body is worn out? Fortunately, daily scientific discoveries make it clear that we are taking big steps toward a long and healthy life.

Scientists have recently discovered a type of molecule that can reverse certain aging processes. One of the main ones is impaired blood flow to tissues and organs. Due to this, our body does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients. It turned out that the found molecule, a compound nikatinomide mononucledatida, is able to restore blood flow and improve DNA regeneration. This molecule even allowed elderly rats to run much longer than younger rats who did not receive it.

Scientific breakthroughs are not limited to this discovery. Scientists have discovered that during the aging process, some cells in the body finally wear out. Zombie cells no longer divide, but do not die, but accumulate in the organs and contribute to the decline in cellular activity. The researchers found out that their destruction leads to the formation of new cells in tissues and a decrease in the number of diseases. All these experiments have so far been conducted only on rats.

What about humans?

As for humans, in this topic too, not everything is simple, but eerily interesting. There is a drug that has recently been used to treat type 2 diabetes. The fact is that one of its side effects is an increase in healthy life expectancy. The drug is made with the use of Medicinal Goatgrass. Metformin has been approved as an anti-aging drug. Scientists are currently in the process of testing the drug in a clinical setting to see if it is suitable for prolonging life whether a person has diabetes or not.

What happens if we become long-lived?

One might think that the main problem of long-lived countries is overpopulation. But that’s not entirely true. Scientists have found that the healthier people are, the fewer children they have. Already in 2015, nearly half of the world’s population lived in countries with low fertility – when a generation doesn’t produce enough children to replace the people who have left – and that figure is expected to rise by 82% by the end of the century. We seem to be safe on that side.