One of the most important factors leading to immune system decline is the greatly reduced rate of release of growth hormone by the brain as we age. This hormone, produced by the pituitary gland, begins to fall off in quantity after your teens. Since the thymus gland requires growth hormone to function properly, this decrease […]
… just as the pigment of the hair is destroyed by phagocytes, so also the atrophy of other organs of the body, in old age, is very frequently due to the action of devouring cells which I have called macrophages. —Elie Metchnikoff, The Prolongation of Life (1908) Instead of preventing diseases only by protecting the […]
Most vitamins are soluble in either the watery or the fatty tissues of our bodies, but not in both. Vitamins C and B are water soluble; vitamins A, E, D, and K are fat soluble. Both types of vitamins are necessary for health and long life. We have different storage capacities for different vitamins. For […]
Read more Molecules of Life and Life Extension: An Introduction to the Cast II
“A vitamin C is a vitamin C is a vitamin C.” A synthetic (made by a chemical factory) molecule of vitamin C is exactly the same as a natural (made by a plant’s biochemical factory) molecule of vitamin C. It is argued that there may be nutritional cofactors (some possibly unidentified) accompanying natural vitamins. It […]
Longevity is only desirable if it increases the duration of youth, and not that of old age. The lengthening of the senescent period would be a calamity. —Alexis Carrel, Man the Unknown (1935) Nothing is too wonderful to be true. —Michael Faraday Many people fear that an extended life span would mean even more time […]
Some people try to achieve immortality through their offspring or their works. I prefer to achieve immortality by not dying. —Woody Allen In order to decide intelligently between different possible life extension methods, you require knowledge of the benefits and the costs of a range of life extension choices. Benefit-versus-cost information is ultimately judged in […]
“Cheshire Puss,” she [Alice] began . . . “would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. —Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland There isn’t just one aging process, and there isn’t just one way to retard […]