The quest for immortality

Scientists are starting to unlock the secrets of aging. Will human beings one day be able to live forever?

How long can humans live?

The maximum human life span is currently about 125 years, scientists think. Most people fall far short of that because of poor diet, self-destructive habits, disease, or organ failure. But advances in medicine have already extended the average human life span in the U.S. and other modern nations from 46 in 1900 to 78 today, and science is now making steady progress toward solving the problem of aging itself. Through genetic manipulation, scientists are hoping to train the body’s immune system to destroy cancer cells, and to tweak our DNA to prevent our healthy cells from dying. We may be approaching an era in which people can bring their aging bodies to a clinic for maintenance, like a car, and have new organs installed that were grown from stem cells or manufactured by 3-D printers. “I’d say we have a 50-50 chance of bringing aging under what I’d call a decisive level of medical control within the next 25 years or so,” says gerontologist Aubrey de Gray.

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