Scientists Tackle Old Age

UK scientists hope to give centenarians 50-year-old bodies.

SUMMARY: One day centenarians may have the bodies of 50-year-olds, scientists in the UK say. Although half the babies now born in that country will reach 100 thanks to higher living standards, their bodies are wearing out at the usual rate. To reach "50 active years after 50," experts at Leeds U. are looking for innovative solutions.

Durable implants such as new hips, knees and heart valves are starting points, but scientists think most body parts eventually could be upgraded as they age. The university already has made a hip transplant that should last for life rather than the current 20 years maximum. The improved hip transplant uses a durable cobalt-chrome metal alloy socket and a ceramic ball or "head" that should easily withstand the 100 million steps a 50-year-old might take by the time he reaches his 100th birthday.

Meanwhile, Prof Eileen Ingham and her team have developed a way to allow the body to enhance itself. The idea is to get the body to make its own transplantable tissues and eventually organs, thereby eliminating the problem of rejection. They have already managed to make fully functioning heart valves by taking a healthy donor heart from a human or suitable animal such as a pig. They then strip away all the cells leaving an inert scaffold that can be transplanted into a patient without fear of rejection. The body will then repopulate the scaffold with cells. This method could also be used on donor skin for burns patients.

Experts hope the new technology will help to remove the heavy reliance on donor organs. One scientist said, "To replace all donor tissue using this technology will take 30 to 50 years. Each single product will need to be designed and tested individually."

To read the entire article click on this link to the BBC.

COMMENT: I'm sure we will wish researchers well in their efforts to make aging a more comfortable process as life expectancy continues to rise. Nevertheless, if any scientists think it may be possible to duplicate Methuselah's age (969 years), they will be wasting their time. For modern humans, there is a limit. Psalm 90:10 says, "The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength," which is the approximate life expectancy in the U.S. at present.

Also, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (entropy) can be expected to take its toll. While replacing some body parts might extend our life spans to some extent, can the human brain ever be replaced? Currently dementia is a growing problem along with our aging population, a problem for which no solution is in sight and one that was not addressed in this article.

The solution to a long and healthy life, in fact an eternal, completely healthy life in heaven, lies in Jesus Christ. When we confess our sins and place our trust in Him as our Savior, He has promised, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3 NIV)

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What medical condition is known as polydactyly?

Polydactyly is a condition in which one has extra fingers or toes. The late actress Marilyn Monroe never had extra fingers or toes despite rumors to that effect. However, British actress Gemma Arterton, who had a lead role in the movie Quantum of Solace, was born with six fingers on each hand. The extra fingers were removed when she was a baby. (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Source: Parade (October 11, 2009)

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