Science: What Triggers Aging?

The Worms Have It!

Cynthia Kenyon at UCSF Mission Bay campus has found a way to increase the lifespan of microscopic worms by suppressing a single gene. 4/21/05 Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Photo: Mike Kepka

This is Cynthia Keynon a biochemist exploring what triggers aging. 

Here is a link to her Ted Talk called Experiments that hint of longer lives from November 2011. 

If you are not familiar w Ted Talks these are short easy to understand presentations by experts in various fields. From scientists, business people, teachers to writers, film makers & entertainers, it shares w the average person new discoveries. These that are often recorded and shared as audio and or video podcasts.

On Ted Talks.com you can search almost any topic. I typed in "aging" and this the first of 5 Ted Talks on the subject.   

Ms. Kenyon's Ted Talk is a bit "sciencey" but short enough to understand the implications of having a long "youthful" life, despite the age your driver's license confesses to. 

I agree that desire to live better is not about extending life indefinitely, but 
to improve the "youthfulness" of a person as he or she ages. 

In other words, reduce the suffering associated with "being old."

Here is a link to an earlier article about Dr. Keyon's research published in May, 2005 in SFGate.

Living WELL into Your 100s

What made me think of Living into 100(+)?
Many ideas had been percolating in the back of my mind, concerning my health & personal well being. A few of years ago I hit 39. Like most of us, I started thinking of the rest of my life. I'm told that it's normal to do that @ all the birthdays ending 9s and 0s.

For one,  I was not loving what I saw in the mirror, again. Being human, I've had healthy years & non-healthy years--read "fat" years & thin years. This time, I wanted these good choices to last permanently. Now that I  had a doctor prescribing me pills to lower my bad cholesterol, it was not about vanity. That combined w my father going through a horrible health scare (he is alive & well now) and a high school friend, my age, dying of diabetes complications, got me thinking that there is got to be a better way to live my life NOW, to avoid suffering NOW and when I get OLD.

After some some personal peaks & plateaus in the health department,  I realized I needed to believe in something really BIG to motivate me to get off my tuchus & work-out when I didn't feel like it; and eating right, when others want to shovel down fast food & whole-milk, full-fat, corn syrupy milkshakes. Because let's face it, I wasn't dreaming of how great I wanted to look in my slinky new dress when I smelled the "siren call (smell?)" of a hamburger cooking as I drove past Burger King at noon on a busy day.

More ideas percolating.....and in "light bulb" moment, I thought:

If I want to be healthy now and I want to be healthy in my old age, how about living life NOW into the possibility of Living a Big B(old) & Young life WELL into my 100s? Say maybe to 125? If I can do it independently and healthfully--heck, yeah, sign me up!

WHY LIVE 100 years?
Life is good and wonderful. (Let's acknowledge now that there are problems too.) Human innovations are amazing. I was a baby when 8-tracks tapes were played in cars: I was a tween when CDs replaced vinyl; I was in college when e-mail was invented; a young teacher when Internet was invented; I met my husband through Internet dating; and now I can communicate w friends across the globe on Facebook daily from my smart phone. And that's just tech! How about science? Stem cells are being engineered from a person's own adult cells. We've landed rovers on Mars & there are plans to send people to Mars too. There is so much going on, I want to see & relish as much as I can before I go.

BUT HOW would I do that? How would YOU do that?
I realize, that there is a lot more to consider, to get to a healthy, independent 100(+). It will have to be about more than diet & exercise. There will be financial, environmental, ethical, political, social and quality of life considerations to address for each one of us as we age.

I am no expert, I am a former elementary school teacher, a current stay-at-home-mom in my 40s. I am of Mexican-descent and was taught that elders have much to contribute to society. With this blog, I am daring myself and others explore Aging WELL into 100 & beyond.

Join the Exploration!
In the posts come, let's explore this topic in it's length and breadth. Let's read articles/ blogs, write articles/posts, & discuss/debate what is to come & what may come as we live longer on this third rock from the sun.

Tip of the Iceberg
There is a whole slue of ideas that come to mind. Where will we live as our population grows? Does the earth have enough resources? What about waste? Should more research money go to explore living in space? Will the notion of retirement need to be scrapped? What support will centenarians need to keep their hearts, minds and bodies sharp & invigorated? What sort of personal financial planning will go into not "out living your money?" What role/ repsonsibility does government going play in "supporting" an aging population? What will all these healthy, energetic centenarians be up to? How will they (& we, when we get there) contribute to society?

What are some of your thoughts and concerns?