part of working for a biology related company is taking part in conversations about life. today at lunch the question came up, what prevents [humans] from living forever?
what we gathered was that the human body’s cells replace themselves every few years. cells can only replicate so many times. you multiply the two together and you get the theoretical lifespan of humans.
the other thing to think about is, every time a cell divides mistakes are made. the copy is not 100% correct. accumulating mistakes is why older people are more susceptible to illness than younger people. it’s why individual lifespan varies so much.
the only ways to prolong life are: reduce the mistakes made in replication, increase the number of times cells can replicate themselves, and reduce the frequency at which cells replace themselves (regenerate). these are the three important variables.
someone suggested that reducing caloric intake would reduce metabolism and tweak the system enough to extend life.
