A French woman named Jeanne Calment lived 122 years, making her the oldest person in history. In fact, living to this age is a challenge that very few people can even do.
The human body is not designed for longevity and is usually limited to 90. So why do we age and what does aging really mean?
Aging occurs when the body interacts with the external environment such as light, toxins in the air, water and diet, etc. causing structural and functional changes. of cells in the body. Such changes will lead to a decline in function and subsequent death of the whole organism. Scientists have identified from genetic changes to changes in the ability of cells to self-renew that cause the body to age.
First, over time, our bodies accumulate genetic damage through DNA damage . This process occurs naturally when DNA duplicates itself, as well as in undivided cells. Organelles such as mitochondria are very vulnerable to this damage. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate, abbreviated as ATP , the main source of energy for all cellular metabolism, moreover, mitochondria regulate many other cellular activities and play an important role in the regulation of cell metabolism. determine cell death. If the function of the mitochondria declines, the cells and internal organs will gradually decline.
Other changes occur through gene expression. Genes that are less expressed in infants are more active in older adults, leading to the development of age-related degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
The truth is that cell renewal declines as we age . The DNA in our cells is coiled up in chromosomes, each with two protected regions at the ends called telomeres. These ends shorten each time the cell duplicates. When telomeres become too short, cells stop replicating and die, slowing the body’s ability to recover. A process that halts the cell’s life cycle in times of danger such as when cancer cells overgrow. But this response happens more as we age, halting cell growth and reducing their ability to duplicate.
Aging also affects those stem cells that are located deep in the tissues and have the ability to multiply indefinitely to replace other cells. As we age, the number of stem cells decreases and gradually loses their ability to regenerate, affecting the process of tissue regeneration and maintenance of the original functions of organs.
Other changes revolve around the cell’s ability to function. As they age, they lose their ability to manipulate proteins, leading to the accumulation of toxic substances. Communication between cells is also slowed down, eventually destroying the body’s function completely.
There’s a lot we still don’t understand about aging . After all, are our lives being prolonged by diet, exercise, medication, or something else? Will future technologies like nanobots that repair cells or gene therapy help prolong our lives? And do we really want to live longer?