There's an Isaac Asimov quote: "If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster." But if there really were accurate predictions for a person's lifespan, how would people change? Maybe medical science is on the verge of creating a pharmaceutical solution for a fountain of youth. We seem to be a long way from a cure for death, but at least a few people think immortality will be available to humanity (eg. Aubrey de Grey, Ray Kurzweil, etc.) in the next few decades. Here are a few links to the study of aging and its causes.

• There is a curious correlation between body mass and lifespans for nearly all known species. There are a few exceptions, but generally, the bigger the animal, the longer it lives. (Maybe those exceptional species could point to genetic causes for longevity.) [url]
• Some rare genetic mutations can prevent people from aging normally. One 9yo girl has the body of an infant; a 29yo man looks like a pre-teen; a 31yo woman appears to be no older than a toddler. [url]
• Researchers are looking for genetic markers that correlate with aging -- finding thousands of indicators that could potentially predict an individual's natural lifespan. Some of the biomarkers suggest that men age faster than women, possibly explaining why women tend to live longer. [url]

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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]

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