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While he was heading to his lab on a sunny day in Texas, molecular biologist Meng Wang still did not know what to expect: tens of thousands of worms, writhing in cartons . In examining each of them, she understood how to deal with the most debilitating condition of humanity: aging.
Aging-related diseases – such as cancer, rheumatism, and Alzheimer's disease – kill 100,000 people a day worldwide. But a growing number of scientists argue that this does not have to be that way.
The BBC World Service's podcast The Inquiry surveyed some of the world's leading researchers on the nature of aging and how modern science can "heal" it, using microorganisms and microorganisms. Organs printed in 3D.
Longer life expectancy
What is aging? Over the years, cells, tissues and organs have suffered minor damage. At any time, this damage overlaps throughout the body. "When the body can not keep up with the pace of repairs, aging begins," says Danish doctor Kaare Christensen.
Christensen worked for many years as a doctor until he was sick of treating sick people. Today, he coordinates the Danish Center for Research on Aging, where he tries to prevent people from getting sick.
He points out the advances: in the middle of the 19th century, life expectancy was about 40 years in most countries. Today, Northern Europe awaits around 80 years and the rest of the world is getting closer to this level. This was largely due to the reduction of infant mortality and not to the spread of life.
But important changes have occurred. "People are now reaching older ages in better conditions," says Christensen. "One easy thing to look for is the teeth – you may notice that older people's teeth are better every decade."
Teeth are a kind of indicator of health in general The condition affects your ability to eat well and feed yourself, and your appearance may indicate if other parts of the body are working well. "
Christensen says that people are not only reaching old age better teeth, but also a higher IQ, which is li to improve livelihoods in the world.
"It's all about better living conditions, better education … and the kind of work you had," he says.
He estimates that progress will continue. But for how long? The record for longevity in the world belongs to the 122-year-old Jeanne Louise Calment. She died in 1997 and a lot has happened since then.
Biophysicist Tuhin Bhowmick is from a family of doctors in Bangalore, India. He remembers listening to patient dinners that his father or uncles could not save. Whenever he asked why he could not avoid a death, his father replied that there were no more cards left. Medicine, after all, had its limits.
"I thought," Okay, so I will not become a doctor, but someone who takes the drugs, "recalls Bhowmick.
A new organ can give people a second chance to live – Photo: GETTY IMAGES [19659021] He says that death in old age is often linked to a dysfunction of vital organs such as the heart, the lungs or the liver. If the patient receives a functional organ from a donor, doctors like Bhowmick's father can give him a second chance in life.
The problem is that there are more people who need organs than autonomous donors. In addition to long queues, organs must be compatible. In many cases, the person dies while waiting for the transplant.
To solve the problem, Bhowmick is studying how to use 3D printing to create organs that are not rejected by the patient's body.
Instead of using an ink cartridge, Bhowmick devices use proteins and cells, as well as those of the patient. It is therefore less likely that the body rejects the new organ.
The Bhowmick team has already produced the first human artificial liver tissue from India; the next step is to create a miniature liver, which he hopes to achieve in about five years.
Bhowmick imagines this organ as a small portable device out of the body with which users can move. In eight to ten years, he hopes to produce a fully functional liver that can be transplanted into the body.
But what happens if a person has a poor organ, does that mean that he is nearing the end of his life? Bhowmick believes that each case is a case. A scientist believes that the millennial generation can live up to 135 years – Photo: GETTY IMAGES "src =" date [Image: GETTY IMAGES]: image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQkFBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAAOABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAFwAAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQYHCP / EABYBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFBv / aAAwDAQACEAMQAAABdnibrwrFwM59mz83 / 8QAHBAAAgIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMCBAAFBhUR / 9oACAEBAAEFAkwM9qOkSkDpFVk + 1TwLawes2Gu3dwXFfYZ // 8QAHBEAAQQDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQRITGR / 9oACAEDAQE / AX1Ia2B0Hfu1ckmrzEBuQeL / xAAaEQACAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgAhAxJh / 9oACAECAQE / AQWC7cmFVdLa5 // EACUQAAIBAgYBBQEAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAxBBESEyEyQTRScYGRkv / aAAgBAQAGPwKSddDLy1 / HFRxRwSyOUJGVv2oDisk3umjM16hP6rdhl2oogGMfuHkU2Kd2eZXcfHIFGRtSYzDqpV16kXt93rpX / 8QAHxABAAICAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAQARITFBUXGx0fD x / 9oACAEBAAE / IU4LVgvg4wM7SoEl0K7fZLtxgcw5UclT8V8x7iX9mIt33E19V6oTd2BxL8o1zDFenq9T6Gf / 2gAMAwEAAgADAAAAEAyv / 8QAGxEBAQABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREhADFBUWH / 2gAIAQMBAT8QYi0UvIqyWLjwl7FOIYZDJm76 / 8 QAGhEBAAIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQARITFx8P / aAAgBAgEBPxAoKWgcr3YXUBvF3qf / xAAdEAEAAgICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABESEAQRAxYXHw / 9oACAEBAAE / EIW6aDgJX2mTqjeBkZyWAhLKKEINmRS8auowEgW91XCJ47H9oAwCkI9tkOKEjELGyUFUUXslVS43mblDUtgkXjwPnrP / 2Q == "/>
A scientist believes that the millennial generation can live up to 135 years old – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
"Maybe the liver was failing, but not necessarily the brain or the heart. If you had replaced an organ that had caused the death of a patient, he could have lived another 20 years, "he explains.
And what is the researcher's bet on how long we can live? if you are millennia old or younger – born in 1981 – there is a good chance that you live up to 135 years old.
Meng Wang's grandmother died at age 100, she was healthy and active until the end of her life.
She is a professor of human and molecular genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in the United States, where she conducts experiments in one of the most exciting new areas of medicine. Our small microorganisms live with us both inside our digestive tract and on the outside of our skin, "explains Wang," they are spread all over our body. "
Most are composed of bacteria, but there are also fungi, viruses and other microbes. In the past, scientists have not paid much attention to it. But now, we know that they have a profound effect on our body.
Recent studies have shown that our microbiome is so important to our body that it is important to maintain the microbiome of the microbiome alive. We can study how this could affect aging, Wang selected a worm that lives for two to three weeks – an expectation of life was short enough to lead a "life experience". And he wondered what would happen if the microbiome of a worm was changed.
Wang chooses a bacterium that lives in the bowels of the worm and modifies its genes. and fed them. she badyzed them three weeks later, when they should have died. "I jumped on the result, which was totally unexpected."
With this, it is likely that someday doctors may prescribe pills that do the same for us. How long can it make us live?
"Some colleagues say up to 200 or 300 years old.I think about 100 years old … is already a good figure," Wang suggests.
As cells age, they divide to replace cells that die or wear out, but this process is not linear. The more a cell divides, the more likely it is to become "senescent".
Senescence comes from the Latin senescere – grow old. That is, the cells age and arrive at the end of the cycle of their life cycle. But instead of dying, they act destructively and communicate with the cells around them, causing a series of diseases.
"It's almost as if the old cell was looking around at her and thought the other cells were as old as them," says Lorna Harries, a professor of molecular genetics at the University of New York. University of Exeter in England.
Cells age and damage younger cells – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
In this way, senescent cells can "contaminate" cells. other cells with aging. And as we get older, more and more cells become senescent until our body is overloaded.
In his lab, Harries may have found a way to solve this problem. The researcher asked a student she was working with to add chemicals to old skin cells. To track the age of the cells in the experiment, they decided to apply a dye that would make them blue if they were senescent.
"What I expected to see were blue cells," says Harries. "But that's not what happened … they came back to look younger."
Harries did not trust the result and asked the student to repeat the experiment. She came back with the same result – and again, Harries asked that the process be redone.
The student repeated the process nine times. "Finally, I looked at it and thought you might have something interesting here," said Harries.
A recent experiment has reversed the aging of human cells – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The experiment has rejuvenated the old cells and turned them into young cells, making it the first experiment to reverse aging in human cells. Some find that discovery can be the secret of a much longer life. Harries began receiving calls from investors and scientists around the world.
But she is still not very optimistic about the shelf life because she believes that humans have a maximum useful life. Nevertheless, he hopes that his research will lead to a new generation of anti-degenerative drugs for dementia and cardiovascular diseases.
"I hope this will provide treatment for many of these problems at once, so that people who die prematurely can live their natural life expectancy," says Harries.
Back to the question: How long can we live?
Maybe one day we can replace our damaged organs, take supplements that will provide a young microbiome and prevent the aging of our cells.
How old could all this be? If we follow Tuhin Bhowmick's predictions, if you are millennial, you may be able to reach 135 years old. And when we get there – in 2116, if you were born in 1981 – who knows what else is possible?
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