Can we live forever?

1 of 4

http://www.supercentenarian.com/archive/sens.html

Source: Guardian
Date: 10 September 2005

Maverick who believes we can live

for ever
Mark Honigsbaum

In 1998 a scientist at the California Institute of

Technology discovered a gene that could extend the life of
fruit flies by 30%. He dubbed it the Methuselah gene after
the Biblical prophet who lived to 969.
Now a self-taught gerontologist believes our mortality
could one day be similarly extended.
At a conference at Queen's College, Cambridge, this
week, Aubrey de Grey, a 41-year-old Cambridge computer
scientist, told a research audience that there was no
reason why people should not live to 1,000.
It sounds like science fiction, but for all that Dr de Grey
has been dismissed as a crank, his papers continue to be
published in peer-reviewed journals and scientists
continue to flock to his meetings.
The editor of the MIT Technology Review has gone so far
as to offer a $20,000 (11,000) prize to any gerontologist
who could put together a serious argument refuting his
claims. So far there have been no takers.
According to Dr de Grey, such attacks are to be expected.
"Traditionally, mainstream gerontologists have preferred
to talk about compressing morbidity, but longevity is
becoming impossible to avoid," he says.
Dr de Grey, whose day job includes investigating the fruit
fly genome, says it is simply a matter of living long
enough to take advantage of biotechnology therapies

10/9/2016 10:40 AM

Can we live forever?

2 of 4

http://www.supercentenarian.com/archive/sens.html

which promise to reverse the tissue damage that comes

with age.
He calls his doctrine Strategies for Engineered Negligible
Senescence, or Sens for short. He has identified seven
deadly aspects of ageing, ranging from frayed DNA
molecules to tangled proteins that interfere with neurons,
sparking Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, to defects in
mitochondria, the intracellular structures that power the
cell and are vital to the control of free radicals involved in
neuromuscular and other diseases.
Some of Dr de Grey's solutions, such as using stem cells
to engineer new tissues, organs and nerve cells, are
already in the works. But his most inventive contribution
has been to propose radical solutions. One of these is a
body-wide rubbish removal program that would clean up
the junk that tends to accumulate inside cells by
implanting in people genes from soil bacteria that have
the ability to metabolise waste.
But to get to the stage where such interventions are
feasible will require a huge research commitment. That is
why, in a bid to convince the world that he is really on to
something, Dr de Grey is offering a Methuselah Mouse
prize of $160,000 to the first scientist who succeeds in
extending the lifespan of an adult mouse from two to five
- the equivalent, in human terms, of going from 80 to
150.
"At the moment the public and many gerontologists tend
to put increased longevity in the same bracket as
transponder beams - in other words, science fiction,"
admits Dr de Grey. "But once we meet the robust mouse
test I predict scientists will fall in behind my theories and
the public will insist politicians make these therapies
available to everyone."
Millions are poured into research each year to counter the
deleterious effects of ageing, with some scientists hoping
that stem cells hold the key. However far-fetched Dr de
Grey's theories, others at the conference were also
offering solutions to the effects of ageing.
Michael West, the chief executive of the US biotech
company Advanced Cell Technology and a world authority
on human therapeutic cloning, presented a paper on how
in the near future human somatic cells could be
reprogrammed to treat neurodegenerative disorders such
as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
And Ronald Kahn, professor of medicine at Harvard and
the director of the Joslin diabetes research centre,
described how his team were zeroing in on the secrets of
the Klotho gene, yet another anti-ageing gene that has
been shown to keep mice alive 30% longer than normal.
Others are more cautious of the grand sweep of Dr de
Grey's claims.

10/9/2016 10:40 AM

Can we live forever?

3 of 4

http://www.supercentenarian.com/archive/sens.html

"There's no doubt that Aubrey is an interesting guy but I

don't buy a lot of his hyperbole," says David Finkelstein,
the program director of the US National Institute of
Ageing.
"Some of the extrapolations from animal experiments are
frankly silly. Just because something works for a mouse
that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work for us."

Five bars to immortality

Signs of ageing and their solutions or cures, according to
Aubrey de Grey
1 Cell depletion This happens in important tissues,
including the heart and brain
Cure Treat primarily by introducing growth factors to
stimulate cell division or by periodic transfusion of stem
cells engineered to replace the types that have been lost
2 Unwanted cells In later years fat cells proliferate and
replace muscle, sparking diabetes and heart disease
Cure Receptors on surface of such cells are susceptible to
immune bodies that scientists will learn how to generate
3 Chromosome mutations Immortality of cancer cells is
related to the behaviour of the telomere, the caplike
structure found on the end of every chromosome, which
decreases in length each time the cell divides
Cure Engineer cells so they no longer carry the gene for
telomeres, thus stopping tumour from dividing. De Grey
would also replace a person's stem cells every 10 years
4 Mitochondria mutations Mitochondria are the tiny
machines that power the cell
Cure Copy genes from the mitochondrial DNA and put
them into the DNA of the nucleus, where they will be
safer from mutation-causing influences
5 Accumulation of 'junk' within the cell
As cells digest large molecules, the waste accumulates in
intracellular structures called lysosomes. Atherosclerosis,
hardening of the arteries, is biggest manifestation.
Cure De Grey proposes inserting genes from soil bacteria,
which break down waste, into the lysosomes
***
Ending Aging (2007)
by Aubrey de Grey and Michael Rae

10/9/2016 10:40 AM

Can we live forever?

4 of 4

http://www.supercentenarian.com/archive/sens.html

Refs
and further reading
HOME
SENS
Catalase
Resveratrol
Immortality?
Living Longer
Selegiline.com
Immortal Youth?
Longevity Genes
Supercentenarians
Reengineering the body?
Caloric restriction prolongs life
New treatments for aging brains
World's Oldest Supercentenarians
Does resveratrol enhance longevity?
Does caloric restriction significantly prolong life?

10/9/2016 10:40 AM