Some potential areas for research on means of drastically increasing the human life span

Abstract

In principle there are two different methods of extending the life span. The first consists of the removal of factors leading to premature ageing and includes various social improvements, control of disease, and conditions of work and living, etc. The second method is directed towards an alteration in the rate of biological ageing processes and may be expected to increase the life span of humans by two or three times above its present natural limits (80 to 100 years). At the present time, as the conditions for living into old age are considerably improved in many countries, two other problems face us. These are: (1) to increase drastically the life span of people who have not yet reached old age by postponing the appearance of senility; and (2) to extend the life span of older persons by rejuvenating them. The method by which these effects may be achieved is through an interference in the biology of the ageing process. In discussing the main possible directions which such an interference in the ageing process might take the author considers that longevity is determined primarily by the level of disparity in some links of biochemical reactions between the amount of substances coming into the reactions and the amount of substances entering the consequent links of biochemical reactions. In the present discussion we will treat four methods of searching for means of effecting an increase in length of life.