The fountain of youth has been an elusive goal for centuries, and there's still no magic potion (or pharmaceutical) that can stop the aging process. But bits of progress suggest that there might be ways to extend a healthy human lifespan by a significant amount. Here are just a few more data points that could point to a future of living longer and longer.

• Brooke Greenberg is twenty years old, but she has an extremely rare disorder (she's the only person known to have Syndrome X) that hinders her growth so that she appears to be about five years old. Researchers are looking at this girl's DNA to try to figure out if there is a genetic cause and which genes may be behind this unusual aging process. [url]
• The German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg is looking at a glycoprotein called Dickkopf-1 (aka Dkk1) which seems to be involved in the cognitive abilities of elderly brains. The function of this molecule isn't entirely clear, but some researchers are trying to understand it in an effort to determine the mechanisms of declining cognitive abilities as people age. [url]
• The effects of consuming resveratrol aren't fully understood yet, but when honeybees eat this compound, they eat less and live longer. So there's a possibility that resveratrol plays a role in caloric restriction when it's associated with extending lifespans of various animals. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

As our planetary odometer rolls over yet again (and we thankfully didn't cease to exist after December 21st), lots of folks are coming up with new resolutions for happier, healthier lives... but what about just longer lives? Here are just a few links on extending our lifespans indefinitely.

• Do short people live longer than tall people? Studies have shown mixed results over the last 100 years, but more recent studies are leaner towards shorter people having a slightly longer life expectancy. [url]
• The immortal jellyfish has been studied for its unique ability to reverse its aging and repeat its lifecycle without dying. However, there aren't that many jellyfish experts in the world, and we still don't know much about how/why this creature can seemingly live forever. [url]
• Nature (the scientific journal) has made several articles on aging open and free to the public. The science of senescence is fascinating, even if it hasn't really resulted in immortality. Who wants to live forever, anyway? [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

In the quest for a longer life and eternal youth, people have come up with many different (and sometimes crazy) theories on how to get there. Add years to your life with vitamins, supplements, and hormones! Eat this, not that! Postpone death with suspended animation! Here are just a few examples of possible ways to increase our lifespan.

• As early as in 1935, studies have suggested that restricting caloric intake can extend the lifespan of rats, but does the same idea apply to humans? Researchers at Tufts University are conducting a study (CALERIE) to see if reducing caloric intake by 25% can help to slow aging and extend life. [url]
• Researchers at the University of Paris have found that feeding rats fullerene (C60) in olive oil can almost double their lifespan, with no long-term toxic effects. Apparently, an unaffiliated small startup is already selling research-ready C60 olive oil solution -- prepared the same way as in the study -- to people interested in studying it (in rats, not people!) [url]
• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have figured out how to turn adult blood cells into embryonic stem cells. Aside from curing the incurable, perhaps the discovery could one day lead to eternal youth. [url]
• A study from Northwestern University suggests that children with older fathers are more likely to live longer. This is because they inherit longer telomeres from their fathers (and paternal grandfathers) that protect against aging processes. [url]
• The FDA has apparently approved "suspended animation" for human trials. The idea is that by injecting critically injured patients with a cold fluid to induce severe hypothermia, death can be postponed so that surgeons can work on them in suspended animation for 60-90 minutes. This extra time could mean the difference between life and death. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Several discoveries in biology could lead to treatments that reverse the effects of aging and prolong lifespans. There isn't quite a magic bullet, but it's not unreasonable to think that people could live longer and longer lives. The Methuselah Foundation has several monetary prizes for researchers in the field of life extension interventions. Here are just a few other interesting research studies on aging.

• Little worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) on the International Space Station are actually living longer in a micro-gravity environment than their earth-bound relatives. Researchers have identified several genes that contribute to this unexpected lengthening of longevity, but living on a space station isn't the fountain of youth. [url]
• The cost of sequencing the human genome has fallen dramatically from $3 billion for the first one... to a few thousand dollars. Having access to the information in our DNA could lead to lifespans of 150 years, but getting hit by a bus would still be a problem. [url]
• Certain kinds of exercise may extend your life more than others. Aerobic exercise is correlated with living a bit longer than non-aerobic exercise -- so expect a few more infomercials to start plugging exercise equipment with claims of helping you live longer. [url]
• Senescent cells can no longer divide, and they might bring down neighboring cells and create various symptoms of aging. Eliminating these senescent cells could lead to more age-resistant organs -- and people living longer (perhaps as undead zombies). [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

We've all seen those forensic "aging" pictures that are often used to try to show what a fugitive might look like now, when law enforcement doesn't have a recent photo available. I always assumed that there was some sort of science behind doing that. However, it appears that when it comes to the FBI, the way it's done is to do a Google Image search, find an image the FBI likes and then do a simple photo merge with the person they're trying to "age." Of course, that became a bit of a problem recently, when it came out that the photo the FBI used to age both Osama bin Laden and another senior al-Qaida leader, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, happened to be a Spanish member of parliament named Gaspar Llamazares. Llamazares is not happy about this -- especially since both of the people who his likeness was used to demonstrate have since been assassinated. He's now planning to sue the FBI. I am curious what charges he'll bring. I can't see anything really sticking, to be honest. There might be a copyright claim from whoever holds the copyright on the image -- and that would be pretty amusing, given the Justice Department's rather strong views on the absolute evils of copyright infringement. But really, the whole story seems pretty ridiculous.