People can live a more fulfilling life than ever in the world with an average life expectancy of 100 years

In 1950About 60 years oldThe average life expectancy in Japan is now 83 years old and is considered to continue to grow steadily in the future. Although there is a negative impression when it is heard as an aging society, if human beings longevity, will not it be possible to obtain a fulfilling life that human beings have never gotten before? That is why Gregg Easterbrook wrote about "research to delay the old age" not just "longevity" being done but also about the society that it realizedThe AtlanticI am summarizing it.

What Happens When We All Live to 100? - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/09/what-happens-when-we-all-live-to-100/379338/

table of contents
History until human longevity
◆ whales holding the key to longevity?
◆ Eat meat and smoke to live 100
◆ How far is the life expectancy of a person?
◆ Relationship between education and lifespan
◆ Aging Society and Politics
◆ Vision after retirement changes
◆ What is the meaning of "longevity" in nature?

History until human longevity
Changes in human life expectancy begin in the 19th century. Since 1840, the average life expectancy of the person every year extended by 3 months, the Swedish average life expectancy which was 45 years old in 1840 now is 83 years old, the average life expectancy of Americans who were 47 years old in the early 20th century was also 79 I am old. If life expectancy expands three months every year from now on, at the end of this century the average life expectancy of Americans should be 100 years old.


The extension of life expectancy is regarded as an independent existence, regardless of antibiotic inventions or warfare. Of course there is a difference from the difference of rich and poor among the nations, there are also trends by year, but it shows a smooth rise as a whole.

In order to respond to the longevity of people who are getting longer and longer, Google is a new company that confronts the aging phenomenon and old age diseaseCalicoAnnounced. I specialize in researching aging even in California, USABuck InstituteThe institution was founded and succeeded in making the life of insects five times in the laboratory.

While there is a movement to make a rich society in preparation for aging, it is also clear that aging will create certain risks. Since the age of making children is decreased, the declining birth rate will occur and the number of working generations will decrease, and the political arena will be dominated by elderly people and voting that will increase the expenses of the young people may be done. People whose social security and corporate pensions exceed the original budget and people who can not receive the pension are emerging, there is a possibility that the expensive welfare service is forced, expenses of medical expenses are unlikely to expand.

But while there are these pessimistic views, it is possible that things will head in a good direction. For example, if the cause of Alzheimer's and other diseases is "age" itself, and if the future technology can extend the arrival of "old" itself, extending lifespan means not "extending the period until death" but " It is also possible to prolong the period that you can spend a lot. In other words, without working for a hospital, working lively and generating revenue,There is also a possibility that a rich life in a different form from the "life after retirement" which had been imaged until now can be sent.


Research on "aging" to achieve the future as described above is done in many directions. According to Dr. Gordon Lithgow of Buck Institute, although it is unknown whether it is effective against humans, drugs that already extend the life of invertebrates are developed.

Gregg Easterbrook actually visited the Buck Institute when hearing that he is a drug that retards old age, but in fact the young people in the facility seemed to be in the atmosphere like a Silicon Valley startup. Until a while ago, the "delaying aging" research that was seen with strange eyes has become a cutting-edge research of biology in only 15 years.

One research undertaken at the Buck Institute is to "modify the yeast chromosome". Depending on the chromosome, the bacteria will die if removed, but if you do not mistake the object to remove, it is possible to prolong the life span of the fungus. I am currently investigating why this kind of thing will happen, but while hoping that "if the same thing can be done for mammals", the staff are busy with their research everyday.

In the lab, research is also being conducted to make the mouse survive healthy for a long time. Even if it is 20 years ago to prolong the life of insects, it was a very difficult business, but now it is possible for anyone to obtain a doctorate. It was relatively easy to prolong the life span of a short life span, making it possible to increase the life of the mouse by 1.25 times with drugs while suppressing the incidence of cardiac dysfunction associated with aging That's right. Brian Kennedy, CEO of Buck Institute,We have already discovered 5 to 10 molecules that healthily prolong the lifespan of the mouse, and it says that next time it is number to divert this to human beings.

Of an immunosuppressant with a prolonged lifespan effectRapamycinIs the drug that is closest to the trial stage at the moment and is thought to have innovative potential. However, in addition to ethical problems, it is difficult to take time and money too much to extend human life.

◆ whales holding the key to longevity?

ByJdegenhardt

There is no research to delay aging so far. Quantum chemist who won the Nobel PrizeLinus pollingHas announced that it can prolong the life span by ingesting a large amount of vitamin C, but later studies have revealed that it is toxic for large doses of vitamin C.

Also, about 10 years ago, a startup called Sirtris tried to develop a medicine that mimicked the usefulness of red wine. UK pharmaceutical companyGlaxo · SmithKlineI bought Sirtris for about 86 billion yen as its current value, but drugs have not been developed yet.

Do research on cancer and agingBruce AmesAlso proposed that amino acids called acetylcarnitine bind to antioxidants to delay aging and also help Alzheimer's treatment. Because the body needs to be oxidized, there is a danger of hindering the body if too much antioxidant substances are present. Ames administered herself acetylcarnitine and still working at the University of California at Berkeley even though she was 85 years old, it is unknown whether he enjoys longevity. Also, as acetylcarnitine is a substance present in plants and animals, it can not be patented, and pharmaceutical companies are not showing interest.

Today's research, although it is in the mouse, certainly also has a relationship between calorie restriction and longevity. The discovery of the fact that the life expectancy of small animals that are small meals is long is a great achievement for research that attempts to prevent aging. The effect on humans is unknown, but if you can say the same for people, it can be a low cost anti-aging law. But the researcher at the Buck Institute said, "The diet of calorie restriction was a temporary epidemic of northern California and I met a group that actually limits calories, but I did not see it at all healthy." .

Some research results have shown that young mouse blood is transfused into an old mouse and it is effective for rejuvenation. The goal of the study is to clarify what substances contained in the blood of young mice will benefit the mature cells, so that once this is known, it will be possible to rejuvenate mature cells by medication without actually transfusing You can do it.

Organizations conducting research on aging are also looking for the key to healthy longevity contained in DNA from other mammals. Whales are harder to get cancer than people, polar bears can not bump into the artery despite a high fat diet. If you know the biological reasons that produce such a difference, you can develop drugs that produce similar effects. That is more feasible to imitate the natural way of thinking than developing new DNA"Medicines that make longevity possible" are being studied from various aspects as well as genes.

◆ Eat meat and smoke to live 100

BySimon Hayhurst

"Healthy food, bad food" is difficult to draw, research results published so far are not decisive. Even if you are living an unhealthy life, there are people who can live longer, even if it is recommended that you manage your weight, eat vegetables, do not take sugar, exercise and take a good sleep, the grounds are It is not because they are 'common sense of health' and 'it has been proved to bring about longevity'. Regarding medicine, it is difficult to judge more than usual because the test period is long for the presence or absence of efficacy against healthy longevity. Furthermore, people over 100 years old suck smoke, do not take beverages more than expected, and few vegetarians, so there is no deciding factor leading to longevity, and the research is confusing.

Luigi Ferrucci, who is studying aging for a long time in Baltimore, said that "There is already a sign of a disease that will become old when you were young" already exists and in order to prevent chronic diseases, Some people are worried about health from a young age,I still do not know if the main cause of longevity lies in lifestyle or inheritance"I said.

Above all, old means the aging of the cell. Tissues and organs that constitute our body are weak and delicate, and cells are often dysfunctional with cancer as a prominent example. And when you have to repair the injured cell, the nearby cell sends a signal asking for repair. When young, this system functions very well, but since it will send a wrong signal as it ages, the restoration work will stagnate and cells will cause inflammation, causing heart disease · Alzheimer · arthritis etc. It is. That is,In the opposite direction, if we can eliminate the stagnation of this repair work, we can also avoid chronic diseases.

"It is no accident that chronic diseases are rapidly increasing from the age of 50. Aging is a major cause of chronic diseases and if you can eliminate senescent cells or stop cell secretion, It is possible to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, it is important to understand the accumulation of senescent cells, "says Judith Campisi of the Buck Institute.

Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant mentioned above, has the function of stopping incorrect repair signals transmitted by cells, and research at other research institutes at Mayo Clinic's research center is also being conducted on other substances that retard cellular aging. As people get older, more and more people can not do, many people eventually become bedridden. However, if you can spend the time to live spirit well, it can be exciting to extend your life for both individuals and society.

As the word "fight with cancer" is the word, advances in medicine have tended to look like battle against individual diseases so far. However, if the perception that what we should overcome is not 'disease' but 'passage of time' itself is widespread, the way of medicine that approaches for each disease will change dramatically.If it was 100 years ago, the idea of ​​"treating aging" sounded absurd, but now "treating aging" is no longer a ridiculous idea.

◆ How far is the life expectancy of a person?

ByPeter Liu Photography

The tendency of "life expectancy of human beings extended every 3 years, human beings" has been seen unchanged for the past 200 years regardless of the outbreak of war and diseases. Will the average life expectancy continue as it is without being influenced by the evolution of biotechnology?Opinions on this issue are divided.

"To keep the average life expectancy of human beings as it is" to study demographic studiesMax Planck InstitutesMr. James Vaupel and opponents againstUniversity of IllinoisHe is Jay Olshansky who studies public health at.

Mr. Vaupel made a paper on the trend of the average life expectancy seen from the 1840's in 2002 and that certain developments and discoveries such as improvement of diet and public health and knowledge of medicine will not cause a prolongation of life span I have concluded. Vaupel calls "The rational scenario" that the average life expectancy continues to increase until it reaches 100 years old, and I have not changed the view until now.

Olshansky's view that the other position is "Extension of average life span hits the wall soon". The increase in life expectancy seen in the 20th century is attributable to the fact that the infant mortality rate has declined and there is no room to extend further in the present situation where the infant mortality rate fell to the lowest line. "Although vaccines have been developed and the lives of young people have been saved a lot, changes in medical care that extend the life expectancy of older people do not promote the overall life expectancy." Olshansky says, "Even if there is no cancer, because other chronic diseases are awaiting, the average life expectancy of Americans will only be three years longer" It seems to think that only the lifespan becomes longer.

Overall, the quality of the environment in the United States is improving. Due to the increase in people who stop smoking and drinking, the mortality rate of disease caused by it has decreased. The mortality rate due to homicide is not even the top 15 in the whole, and toxic air and water excluding greenhouse gases are also getting lost, and the rate of causing lung cancer is decreasing. Greenhouse gases are raising the temperature of the earth, but humans can live longer in warmer environments than in cold environments.

It is the idea that attention is gathered in such a situation, "Life is decided by what we have chosen".

Professor Thomas Perls at the Boston Medical Center to analyze the genome of people over the age of 100 is a sect of ChristianitySeventh day Adventist ChurchI am paying attention to the fact that people living longer than those of the same age. They do not smoke, do not drink, many people are vegetarianism. We exercise on a daily basis and take "holiday" firmly every week. However, Professor Perls focused more attention on that the people of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church are making a big social group. "It is always felt to be involved with other people, but as a whole it seems to be useful for longevity," Perls said.

In recent years, "always being involved with other people" is decreasing. There are a lot of parents and children in the family in many patterns, they are far from religious events and community events, live apart from grandparents, and communicate through electronic devices instead of facing towards the face Sometimes. But,A large group consisting of people of other generations is best suited for living long.

◆ Relationship between education and lifespan

ByVisha Angelova

Professor John Rowe, who studies medical policy at Columbia University, says that the most appropriate way to measure the lifespan of an individual is education. "When I anticipate a person's life expectancy, I will ask the age of the other person and how many years I have received education."

The trend that "education is related to lifespan" has been remarkable since the 1950s, according to a recent study conducted by Jay Olshansky, the life expectancy of women who have not graduated from high school since around 1950 is short, On the contrary, the longevity of highly educated women seems to be getting longer. In the United States today, I know that highly educated people live 10 to 14 years longer than those who are not.People who can not receive education in the US are gradually decreasing year by year, but it is certain that the tendency towards "the death period is earlier because education can not be accepted" is getting stronger. People with a bachelor's degree have a high annual income, they do not smoke, they are less likely to become obese, and they tend to hear instructions from doctors. It is also thought that married people tend to maintain health, but those who graduated from university are known for their high marriage rate and low divorce rate.

The air is cleaned, public health is improved, hospitals have an emergency treatment room, etc. The social environment is getting better and better but the public high schools in the US are badly located and the budget of public universities is getting cut I will. Meanwhile, expensive private education system has infrastructure in place. If education is a trump card for longevity, this is a situation to discuss.

◆ Aging Society and Politics

ByMichael Foley

It is also a big problem that the political world will be dominated by elderly people. In particular, Japan is currently seen to have a median age of 46 years and will rise to 55 years in 2040.Within the aged society innovation and new ideas are not born, politicians and judges are filled with elderly people, there is a fear that decisions will be made to exploit from young people.

These maps show where the world's youngest and oldest people live | GlobalPost
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/140904/map-youth-elderly-world-political-unrest-economy-unemployment


The middle age of the United States is not as high as Japan, but this is a big reason why we accept immigrants. Japan has a trend toward higher average age because of the system not accepting immigrants in addition to declining birthrate.

Sheila Smith of the Foreign Relations Council of the Council on Foreign Relations concerning the current situation in Japan "The voter turnout of young Japanese voters is the worst in the world.The young people are the young people who operate the system of politics as they like , I think that it is meaningless to involve politics, they do not get excited to imagine the future. "

While young people in Japan are aware that the income of elderly people is decreasing, I think that my grandparents manage to do something by themselves. And as life expectancy increases, when young young people become adults, they realize that parents and grandparents expect care.Because there are only one child in the new generation of Japan, it is possible that both monetary care and physical care will come to a single person.

◆ Vision after retirement changes

ByViewminder

The average age of the United States is lower than that of Japan, but it is also fully conceivable that the same situation occurs. In the 1940s America, about 17% of people who have reached the age of 65 have lived as retirees, but now the proportion will be 22%, which is expected to continue to increase. However, social security remains as a system built in the 20th century. The amount of people who have chosen the early retirement preferential treatment system established in 1961 is less than those who did not retire earlier, but some people choose early retirement to say, "Life is short" . According to opinion polls, Americans are underestimating "how long you live".

The fact that the existing social security system will not pass in the future is that we are forced to have a new "retirement vision". In other words, it is not "to live without working due to the money earned by the social security system after retirement", but "to work full time even if you are older."

If that happens, both public policy and employee attitude will change. Banks do not fund loans fundamentally to the elderly who will live their second life, but it is essential for working elderly people. It is a medical insurance system for the elderly and people with disabilitiesMedicareEven at the age to receive, you will need to join private health insurance as long as you work. Once the system is in place, older workers will be better workers for employers, so they can be more valuable than young workers. On the other hand, some people say that it is better to work part-time under less stressful circumstances than full-time work. Then, the role of volunteer service will shift to the elderly."Working after retirement" seems to have a negative image, but if you can live longer by healthy body, you can make "life after retirement" more rich than before.

◆ What is the meaning of "longevity" in nature?

ByÉole Wind

Until now, natural selection has been thought as an idea that "old creatures should die to give up resources to young living things." However,It is thought that the mechanism of natural selection is simply not to have a mechanism for living things of longevity rather than "to hope for the death of an old creature".

Felipe Sierra, a researcher at the National Aging Research Institute, says, "From the point of view of evolution, neither human beings live long past the reproductive age, nor do they prematurely kill breeding After that the old creatures do not leave good genes in future generations and are eaten something "and only the young living beings are subject to natural selection.

A century ago there was a theory that considered "menopause is an evolutionary adaptation only for human beings to pour energy to existing children and grandchildren". thisGrandmother effectAlthough it was believed to be one of the reasons for longevity, now it is known that menopause is also found in lions and baboons, rather than one of the selective pressures is a malfunctioning of aged cells There are also views.

In other words, for living things that have completed the role of prosperity of genes, nature does not pay attention to whether or not it will be longevity. For example, calcium is required for the growing body, and the body of young people has metabolic abilities to treat calcium, but calcium causes arteriosclerosis in the later stages of life. It is a kind of male hormonetestosteroneIs also necessary for the body of young people, but it is a factor of prostate cancer for elderly people. Natural selection of "giving direction to evolution" will occur against prosperous life, but for those that are not, we will not give the direction of "defense".

Even if you can slow the aging speed, it is impossible for man to become invulnerable. Accident and infectious diseases will also cause death, and even if you escape from chronic illness, the body gradually goes to death. But Brian Kennedy of the Buck Institute says "If nature selection does not slow down the speed of aging, there is a chance to slow the aging speed with medicine. Young bodies are perfect, so there is no room for improvement, but as old age still has room for improvement, it can be said that evolution has not begun"apparently.

So, if the lifespan is extended as it is in a healthy body, what kind of world will be born? A century ago, the university was a place for young people to prepare for a short life, but now there are more adult students and there is a possibility that people of all ages may overflow in the future. The view that university events attract not only students but also their parents and community, and decades later it is also the time that students from 18 to 80 years will be receiving lectures.


Also, as the advertisement of TV has been already done for the elderly, products targeting the elderly will also increase in the future. In a recent neurological study, people'sReward systemIt is known that it will be difficult for the elderly to become active, so young people and middle-aged people will not produce a desire to respond to fashionable fashion. The desire of people accused of excessive consumption can be reduced by longevity, so it can be said that it can be balanced in a sense, but the way that marketing should change will also change based on this point.

Young people in their late teens to late 20s are more likely to be involved in crime than other age groups, but it is also expected that crime and violence will become less as society ages. Steven Pinker is a book "The Better Angels of Our Nature"While the population of the world is increasing in the past history, the violence in human society is consistently decreasing", Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said "25 years ago The military expenses of the whole world are one third as compared with that of the other military expenditures ", this trend can also be said.

There is also an economic reason why the past war ended, but "aging" is also one reason. There were a lot of young people who supported the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, but as the man gets smarter by getting older, the research knows that the enthusiasm for war will disappear as age grows . It is possible to use these wisdom in an aging society.

When life comes to the second term, romantic desires and seriousness of things become thinner and passion calms down. And it corresponds to editing work of accumulation and memories so far. Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist at Princeton University who studies 'important things to live happily' said, "In the long run, only memories can be retained". Richness is not real asset, but what is in myself?

And it may be necessary to think about making human relations centering on "family" as centering on "friends". The origins of units of human society are unclear, but in the era when lifespans were short, what men and women should accomplish was to lay birth and nurture children. However, in the era when the lifespan is extended child raising is not the center of life, there is a possibility that "age of friendship" will come after the child independence, for that reason it is necessary to foster friendship in the first half of life. And this "unit change" may have greater influence than changes in working style and health care way.

For both human society and the natural world, the change caused by the extension of life expectancy is unknown, but it is certain that change will come. In the natural world there is no value that "death should be postpone as much as possible". It is necessary to remember that the society in which longevity is realized is a movement diverging from the natural world.