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Genetic Linkage

Live to 150? That’s what some AI algorithms claim is possible. What does the science say?

We're obsessed with aging. 

 

In the quest to prolong life while remaining healthy, people have tried everything from turtle soup to owl meat to drinking human blood.

 

Russian-French microbiologist and Nobel Prize winner Ilya Mechnikov believed that a person could live 150 years with the help of a steady diet of milk cultured with bacteria. (He died at 71.)

 

It's a favorite topic of Hollywood. From Cocoon to Death Becomes Her to Chronos, the quest to extend our limited time on this planet has been a favorite focus of science fiction. Now it's edging closer to science fact.

 

A new report in Nature Communications from researchers at artificial intelligence company GERO.AI indeed points to a maximal human lifespan of 150. And they've pioneered a metric that might one day pop up on a smartphone to indicate an individual's state of aging – something more meaningful, in terms of future health, than counting gray hairs or celebrating birthdays.

 

To continue reading, go to Genetic Literacy Project, where this post first appeared.

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Progress for Progeria

Megan and Devin have the rapid-aging disorder progeria. (Photo courtesy of the Progeria Research Foundation)
Surely progeria is among the saddest of genetic diseases, and one of the rarest. The recent finding that a shelved cancer drug (lonafarnib) may provide a treatment is good news – for all of us.

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