Scientists search for the fountain of youth

New studies are underway that may help researchers understand the causes of aging and how to slow it down, improving the quality of our later years and reducing healthcare costs. Aging is a little-understood part of life and scientists don’t yet how it can be manipulated. Currently, several ongoing studies seek to address the condition. The Longevity Assurance Gene initiative is searching for a gene that indicates aging, and other studies are looking for what can be done to prevent “age-related illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, frailty and Alzheimer's disease.” But this research is complex and results from the reaseacher is years away.

What’s important about current anti-aging research, however, isn’t just the effort to increase a person’s life span. In the last century the average lifespan increased by 30 years, but the aim of this research is to improve the quality of those additional years. “We're trying to stretch the mid-life, not trying to add 15 years of very frail life at the end," notes Anna McCormick, director of the biology of aging program at the National Institute on Aging. Opponents say aging is a natural process and science shouldn’t interfere. In addition, they say that the discovery of a “fountain of youth” could wreak havoc in a world already burdened by overpopulation and a healthcare industry dealing with a burgeoning elderly population. Article