Can We Learn To Beat The Reaper?

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But things aren't as easy as simply dosing a cell with telomerase. Once you immortalize the cell, it will start to divide indefinitely--just the thing cancer cells do to such destructive effect. In a recent, unrelated study that hints at the problem, scientists found that an enzyme known as P53 that has the power to suppress tumors may also shorten life expectancy. As for genetic manipulation, it is theoretically possible to re-engineer senescence genes or introduce proteins that block their operation, but with what could be thousands of genes involved in aging, that may be as far beyond biologists as building a starship is beyond rocket scientists. "That would be a long way off," admits Robert Butler, head of the International Longevity Center in New York City.

Other purported life extenders have problems too. Taking such putative anti-aging nostrums as human growth hormone or DHEA--a hormone precursor--may increase the risk of certain diseases. Restricting caloric intake by as much as 30% has lengthened life in some caged animals. But caged animals are not feral humans, and who among the already healthy is going to slash food intake by a third anyway?

The quieter news is that while immortality is beyond us, that 125-year life-span is still out there beckoning. Eliminating the dietary and lifestyle habits that are setting you up for the heart attack that is going to kill you at 50 can, in a blink, extend your life by decades. Doing the same thing on a global level--and throwing in progress on disease treatment too--can cause the life expectancy of the entire species to inch further and further out. There are about 50,000 centenarians in the U.S.--a blip in a country of close to 300 million people. But over time, those tens of thousands could creep into the millions. It takes work to join their ranks, but it is work more and more people may be willing to do.