Part of me wanted to believe this is a hoax. I mean, and the drug was first discovered in soil samples on Easter Island... Oh, come on!
Obviously there are serious problems with side effects (not the least of which being, of course, that this is a drug that suppresses the immune system), and a 9-13% increase in lifespan isn't exactly the stuff of Highlander or Lazarus Long.
Still, I did find it interesting, perhaps most interesting for the possibilities for future research. If they can isolate the properties that extend life from the more harmful side effects, isolate the over-all effect that seems to be enabling life-extension; if they give the drug to a younger organism, does it affect the overall change...?
Ah, who knows. It may be the only thing that ever comes of it is some schmuck like Donald Trump living an extra six years. (shrug)
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Life-extension results in mammals other than humans always make me skeptical, because humans are complete outliers in lifespan. Most mammals live for roughly half a billion heartbeats, from shrews right up to elephants. The single exception to this rule is, you guessed it, humans, who live for two billion heartbeats, give or take. It follows that all the low-hanging fruits in other mammals' metabolisms are probably already in action in the human genome. I therefore consider the probability that lifetime-extension results can be transferred to humans very low.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
KoM, you have any citations for that half-a-billion claim? I've never heard that before, and am curious.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Well, I read it on the Internets, so it must be true.
No, seriously. This article gives an average of ~0.75 billion heartbeats per lifetime for mammals; if you take a human's average heart rate as 70 / minute, and lifespan as 70 years, you'll get 2.5 billion heartbeats.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
It may well be. The fact that similar results have been found in non-mammals piques my curiosity, though. If they run any sort of trials or come to more exact conclusions about the mechanism by which the substance extends life, I'll be curious to hear the results.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: Well, I read it on the Internets, so it must be true.
No, seriously. This article gives an average of ~0.75 billion heartbeats per lifetime for mammals; if you take a human's average heart rate as 70 / minute, and lifespan as 70 years, you'll get 2.5 billion heartbeats.
Sucks to be me, my heart rate typically hangs out at 90+ a minute, my dad says he thinks it's genetic, as his heart beats very fast, even though he is an exercise nut.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Not really, heart rate doesn't calculate to longer life span in humans, statistically. You'd think it should, but it really doesn't.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
Me and my paroxysmal atrial tachycardia thank you for that.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
There's an easy way to extend life that works on almost everything in the animal kingdom from spiders to mammals to fish. Cut about 1/3 of the calories out without compromising nutritional necessities. It does slow your metabolism some but the longevity effect is far more than just from slowed metabolism. There's some positive factor at work that is poorly understood, but you can believe people are working on it! Someday there will be a pill or other treatment that gives the same effect without having to change the diet, I expect.
In the meantime, cutting calories is a great longevity boon for most creatures including humans.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Sucks to be me, my heart rate typically hangs out at 90+ a minute, my dad says he thinks it's genetic, as his heart beats very fast, even though he is an exercise nut.
Have your thyroid hormone levels been checked? My heart beet at rest was like 95-110 when I was hyperthyroid. Then after I got the treatment and I went hypothyroid it dropped down to about 60. Then when I got normal thyroid levels with pills I am about 70.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:In the meantime, cutting calories is a great longevity boon for most creatures including humans.
This has not been tested in humans. The test is underway, but it is not completed. Until it is, we do not know what the effects are.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
"...as the American population has become generally more overweight, brands from the luxury names to the mass retail chains have scaled down the size labels on their clothing.
"You may actually be a size 14 and, according to whatever particular store you're in, you come out a size 10," said Natalie Nixon, associate professor of fashion industry management at Philadelphia University. "It's definitely to make the consumer feel good."
...As clothing size numbers scale down in an era when bodies are getting more overweight, portion sizes have been increasing, Jampolis said. Photographs of fast food hamburgers from 50 years ago reveal that the serving size back then would seem like a "joke portion" now..."
[ July 10, 2009, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:a 9-13% increase in lifespan isn't exactly the stuff of Highlander or Lazarus Long.
Who cares. If it works, sign me up. I'll pay a good chunk of cash to live another eight to ten years.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
There are many people who have a hyperactive immune system. It seems like it would be a good thing, but the whole system backfires and attacks itself.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)