Science Fact or Fiction: Four Life Prolonging Technologies

Posted in Health Insurance

March 2nd, 2010

It’s no secret that today’s society is consumed with youth – 40 is the new 30, remember? The more Botox, implants and face lifts one can get, the better. But while many are consumed with ways to appear to live forever, scientists are behind the scenes trying to come up with ways to actually live forever – or at least a while longer. If you’ve been wondering what they’ve been up to, you’re not alone. So let’s explore some of the new technologies scientists have come up with that they say could prolong the human life span:

Oxidative Stress Exposure

Oxidative stress, which is defined as damage caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen and the body’s ability to detoxify, has been linked to cancer, aging and other disease in human beings. Have you ever seen an apple turn brown after exposing it to air? This is the same idea. However, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, now believe that small exposure to oxidative conditions may offer protection from larger doses. They’re still working out the details, but they think that if you get exposure to cell-damaging conditions in small doses, you may build up resistance to bigger doses of it, essentially prolonging your life span.

Therapeutic Hypothermia Technology

This technology, introduced by Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, is said to cool the body’s temperature for those who suffer from cardiac arrest. Multiple studies have shown that this technology improves survival, as well as neurological functions (by keeping brain tissue alive) after a patient suffers a cardiac arrest.

Clot Dissolving Medicine

Chilton Memorial has also pioneered a medical treatment that consists of the rapid elimination of deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot that forms in large veins in your legs, travels to your lungs, and causes a fatal pulmonary embolism). Traditionally, physicians use blood thinners to reduce the effects of blood clots, but according to this new clot-dissolving medicine, the clot can be sucked out, preventing the life-threatening effects of deep vein thrombosis.

Adding Genes to Remove Cancer Prolong Life

According to a team at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid, they are working on extending life to possibly 125 years by inserting a copy of three genes called telomerase into the body. The studies are currently being conducted on mice, but so far, the researchers have found that these genes (p53 and p16) prevent cells from mutating and dividing and also lead to increased production of protein, which may suppress tumors and also protect against aging. The tests have already been performed on mice and have extended their lives from three to four years – the equivalent to extending ours to 125 years. We’ve all been dreaming of a machine we can hop into to magically extend our lives. While it has yet to appear, maybe some of these scientific advancements can help to give us the prolonged lives we’re hoping for.