Human Longevity: Achieving Immortality through Negligible Senescence
You have a life. Imagine if you’d always have one. Imagine if it would never end.
We’re talking about immortality. See, regardless of who you are, how long you’ve existed, or whether you enjoy pineapples on pizza, you have the belief that at one point or another, your life will end. All your dreams, hopes, mildly-controversial beliefs. Gone.
Isn’t that scary to think about? Well, maybe. But the inevitability of death has been a running theme throughout all of human existence, so this really isn’t anything new. Rather, imagining a world where death doesn’t exist is much scarier. Yet, this is exactly what’s starting to happen.
In this very moment, scientists, researchers, and the world’s brightest minds are taking us closer to immortality, step by step. So let’s break down the science.
Senescent Cells, AKA “Zombies” in your Body
Before we dive into how we’re extending life, we must first understand why we die. One key culprit is cellular senescence. As you age, more and more cells become senescent — a zombie-like state where they no longer divide or carry out their intended function. Rather, these cells damage tissues, ramp up chronic inflammation, and pave the way to many age-related diseases.
However, there also exists “negligible senescence”— a state where organisms no longer exhibit signs of biological aging. With negligible senescence, we see none of the declines in function or increased mortality rate that are hallmarks of aging.
The Hydra Who Never Grew Old
An example of negligible senescence we see in nature is the curious hydra:
The hydra is an incredibly tiny freshwater polyp that eats even tinier aquatic animals. Their ability to never age comes from amazing reproductive capabilities: Hydras are made almost entirely out of stem cells, which can continuously divide and differentiate into many different cell types. This process of consistent regeneration allows the creature to avoid cellular senescence. Therefore, they are biologically immortal.
Immortality in Humans
What does the hydra tell us?
For starters, immortality does exist in the natural world, just not in the way most people believe. We must draw a clear line between immortality and indestructibility. While negligibly senescent creatures do not age, they can die, as a result of predation or injury. It’ll be the same case for humans.
To provide a clearer picture, let’s say Bob McFakename is biologically immortal.
Bob grows up normally, just as any of us would. During childhood, he may still experience scraped knees. During adolescence, maybe some bruises here and there. But it’s throughout adulthood and middle age when things start to change.
Bob turns 30 today! Normally, it’s at this age that the risk of stroke begins increasing exponentially, but since Bob’s cells are negligibly senescent, this isn’t the case.
15 years go by. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in his fellow 45-year-old friends, but again, Bob doesn’t need to worry about it.
Another 15 years pass, and now we reach a big one: cancer. Age is one of the biggest risk factors for cancer, with half of all cancer cases occurring in people over age 66. Bob begins witnessing his loved ones struggle. He feels heartbroken when his wife is diagnosed with lung cancer.
Meanwhile, Bob steadily remains at low risk.
15 more years pass. Bob’s best friend since high school has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Bob is devastated, but his cells remain healthy as ever.
Another 15 years. 90-year-old Bob has a rapidly dwindling number of friends, family and loved ones. But he’s still healthy as ever.
15 years later, everyone in Bob’s life is gone. He’s enjoyed a successful, stable life. He’s travelled the world and seen more than enough for a lifetime. He’s still healthy, just very bored.
Bob dies in a car crash.
The point of sharing Bob’s story is to emphasize that in the future, any of us may be able to live like Bob. When you’re the only biologically immortal person in the universe, that gets lonely. But, what if you and the rest of the world all had the ability to live healthily and indefinitely?
If that’s the case, then gone are the days of losing loved ones. Gone are the medical bills piling up as see your doctor more and more. Gone is your slow decline into chronic pain, degenerative diseases and inevitable death.
It might sound like paradise, but it’s not impossible.
SENS: An Approach to Negligible Senescence
Scientists approach the world’s biggest problems with a plan, and aging is no different.
The Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) is a framework for achieving biological immortality. Its final objective:
The eventual elimination of age-related diseases and infirmity.
SENS employs a wide variety of preventative strategies and treatment, which makes sense given that there are a wide variety of issues to tackle. Their current focus is regenerative medicine therapies, which are methods to regrow, repair or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues.
Senescence in Longevity Research and Progress
SENS Research Foundation isn’t the only team of bright minds working towards negligible senescence. Within the recent two decades, the field of longevity has accomplished a great deal. Highlights include:
- The discovery of senolytic drugs that can eliminate senescent cells through selective apoptosis.
- Findings that demonstrate eliminating senescent cells extend healthy life in mice.
- Public support from billionaire investors such as Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal
- Tentative clinical trials for senolytic drugs are conducted on humans. Mayo Clinic confirms senolytic treatments of dasatinib and quercetin clears senescent cells in humans
The companies working on anti-aging now number between 50 to 100. Advancements in biotech are allowing us to make breakthroughs as, seemingly, the world marches step by step closer to biological immortality.
Our Future and Our Now
The field of human longevity is a thrilling, new and exciting one. Biotechnology is advancing at a rate where soon, it will transform life as we know it. Literally.
—
Negligible senescence is just one of the paths we are heading down. While none of us can say for sure what may happen 10, 20 or 50 years down the line, we can make sure to stay informed of the fascinating research going on behind the scenes as we live our ordinary lives.
Join me as I dive into a world of biotech, its implications and the ways it’s currently transforming your life.
I’ll be writing a series of articles diving deep into the many aspects of human longevity, whether it’s the science, societal implications, or ethics. Follow along for a weekly dose of fascinating food for thought!
TL;DR
- Cellular senescence is one of the biggest reasons why we age.
- Cells eventually become “zombie cells” (senescent), resulting in tissue damage, chronic inflammation, and age-associated diseases.
- Negligible senescence is a state where organisms no longer exhibit signs of biological aging. We can call it biological immortality, and it exists in creatures such as the hydra.
- SENS is a framework for achieving negligible senescence (NS) through regenerative medicine therapies. It has been adopted by the SENS Research Foundation, one of the primary company working towards NS.
- There are several other companies and research teams working towards negligible senescence. They have made several breakthroughs in the field of human longevity.
- However, none of us can predict the future of aging. All we can do is stay informed of the science, which I’ll endeavour to help you achieve with my Human Longevity series.
