The following

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is provided as an overview of and topical guide to life extension:

Life extension Life extension is the concept of extending the human life expectancy, lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled oldest people, limit of 125 years. S ...

– study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the

maximum In mathematical analysis, the maxima and minima (the respective plurals of maximum and minimum) of a function, known collectively as extrema (the plural of extremum), are the largest and smallest value of the function, either within a given ran ...

and average lifespan. Also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology.

Goals

Biological immortality Biological immortality (sometimes referred to as bio-indefinite mortality) is a state in which the rate of mortality from senescence is stable or decreasing, thus decoupling it from chronological age. Various unicellular and multicellular species, ...

Indefinite lifespan Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled limit of 125 years. Several researchers in the area ...

Longevity The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...

Rejuvenation Rejuvenation is a medical discipline focused on the practical reversal of the aging process. Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes in order to slow ...

Longevity

Centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

Supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

Longevity escape velocity In the life extension movement, longevity escape velocity (LEV) or actuarial escape velocity is a hypothetical situation in which one's remaining life expectancy (not ''life expectancy at birth'') is extended longer than the time that is passing ...

Strategies

Research and development

Timeline of senescence research This timeline lists notable events in the history of research into senescence or biological aging, including the research and development of life extension methods, brain aging delay methods and rejuvenation. People have long been interested in ...

Available strategies

Calorie restriction Calorie restriction (caloric restriction or energy restriction) is a dietary regimen that reduces intake of energy from caloric foods & beverages without incurring malnutrition. "Reduce" can be defined relative to the subject's previous intake be ...

or protein restriction or

intermittent fasting Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting (or reduced calorie intake) and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, a ...

Exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...

Geroprotector A geroprotector is a senotherapeutic that aims to affect the root cause of aging and age-related diseases, and thus prolong the life span of animals. Some possible geroprotectors include melatonin, carnosine, metformin, rapamycin,nicotinamide m ...

Senolytics A senolytic (from the words ''senescence'' and ''-lytic'', "destroying") is among a class of small molecules under basic research to determine if they can selectively induce death of senescent cells and improve health in humans. A goal of this re ...

Potential future strategies

Cryonics Cryonics (from el, κρύος ''kryos'' meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticis ...

* Genetic therapies ** Cloning and body part replacement ** Cell replacement therapies (CRT) *

Strategies for engineered negligible senescence Strategies for engineered negligible senescence (SENS) is a range of proposed regenerative medical therapies, either planned or currently in development, for the periodic repair of all age-related damage to human tissue. These therapies have the u ...

(SENS) *

Digital immortality Digital immortality (or "virtual immortality") is the hypothetical concept of storing (or transferring) a person's personality in digital substrate, i.e., a computer, robot or cyberspace (mind uploading). The result might look like an avatar beh ...

through

mind uploading Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information pr ...

Suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

Immunisation Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...

Aging

Evolution of ageing Enquiry into the evolution of ageing, or aging, aims to explain why a detrimental process such as ageing would evolve, and why there is so much variability in the lifespans of organisms. The classical theories of evolution (mutation accumulation, ...

Gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...

Pro-aging trance Pro-aging trance, also known as pro-aging edifice, is a term coined by British author and biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey to describe the broadly positive and fatalistic attitude toward aging in society. Overview According to de Grey, ...

Hallmarks of aging

* Altered intercellular communication *

Cellular senescence Cellular senescence is a phenomenon characterized by the cessation of cell division. In their experiments during the early 1960s, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead found that normal human fetal fibroblasts in culture reach a maximum of approxi ...

* Deregulated nutrient sensing * Epigenetic alterations *

Genomic instability Genome instability (also genetic instability or genomic instability) refers to a high frequency of mutations within the genome of a cellular lineage. These mutations can include changes in nucleic acid sequences, chromosomal rearrangements or aneup ...

* Loss of proteostasis *

Mitochondrial dysfunction Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy of ...

* Stem cell exhaustion * Telomere attrition

Causes of aging

Cross-link In chemistry and biology a cross-link is a bond or a short sequence of bonds that links one polymer chain to another. These links may take the form of covalent bonds or ionic bonds and the polymers can be either synthetic polymers or natural ...

s **

Crosslinking of DNA In genetics, crosslinking of DNA occurs when various exogenous or endogenous agents react with two nucleotides of DNA, forming a covalent linkage between them. This crosslink can occur within the same strand (intrastrand) or between opposite stra ...

Free radicals In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired valence electron. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemically reactive. Many radicals spont ...

– atom, molecule, or ion that has unpaired valence electrons. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make free radicals highly chemically reactive towards other substances, or even towards themselves: their molecules will often spontaneously dimerize or polymerize if they come in contact with each other. They are countered to some extent by

antioxidants Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...

. *

Glycation Glycation (sometimes called non-enzymatic glycosylation) is the covalent attachment of a sugar to a protein or lipid. Typical sugars that participate in glycation are glucose, fructose, and their derivatives. Glycation is the non-enzymatic proces ...

Advanced glycation end-product Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are proteins or lipids that become glycated as a result of exposure to sugars. They are a bio-marker implicated in aging and the development, or worsening, of many degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, at ...

Lipofuscin Lipofuscin is the name given to fine yellow-brown pigment granules composed of lipid-containing residues of lysosomal digestion. It is considered to be one of the aging or "wear-and-tear" pigments, found in the liver, kidney, heart muscle, retin ...

Viral infection A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells. Structural Characteristics Basic structural characteristics, s ...

s (acute or chronic)

Theories of aging

Theories of aging * Antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging * Caloric restriction theory * Cross-linkage theory of aging * Death hormone theory *

Disposable soma theory of aging The disposable soma theory of aging states that organisms age due to an evolutionary trade-off between growth, reproduction, and DNA repair maintenance. Formulated by Thomas Kirkwood, the disposable soma theory explains that an organism only has ...

DNA damage theory of aging The DNA damage theory of aging proposes that aging is a consequence of unrepaired accumulation of naturally occurring DNA damage. Damage in this context is a DNA alteration that has an abnormal structure. Although both mitochondrial and nuclear ...

* Epigenetic clock theory of aging * Error catastrophe theory of aging * Errors and Repairs Theory *

Free-radical theory of aging The free radical theory of aging (FRTA) states that organisms age because cells accumulate free radical damage over time. A free radical is any atom or molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell.Erbas M, Sekerci H. "Importance ...

* Gene mutation theory * Genetic control theory * Glycation theory of aging * Hayflick limit theory * Inflammation theory of aging * Immunological theory of aging * Log-normal theory of mortality * Membrane theory of aging * Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging * Mitochondrial Theory of Aging * Mutation accumulation theory of aging * Neuroendocrine theory of aging * Order to disorder theory of aging *

Rate of living theory The rate of living theory postulates that the faster an organism’s metabolism, the shorter its lifespan. The theory was originally created by Max Rubner in 1908 after his observation that larger animals outlived smaller ones, and that the large ...

* Redundant DNA theory *

Reliability theory of aging and longevity The reliability theory of aging is an attempt to apply the principles of reliability theory to create a mathematical model of senescence. The theory was published in Russian by Leonid A. Gavrilov and Natalia S. Gavrilova as ''Biologiia prodolzh ...

Reproductive-cell cycle theory The reproductive-cell cycle theory posits that the hormones that regulate reproduction act in an antagonistic pleiotrophic manner to control aging via cell cycle signaling; promoting growth and development early in life in order to achieve reprod ...

* Somatic mutation theory of aging * Telomeric theory of aging * Theory of programmed death * Thermodynamic theory of aging * Thymic-stimulating theory * Waste accumulation theory

Organizations

Alcor Life Extension Foundation The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is an American nonprofit, federally tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Alcor advocates for, researches, and performs cryonics, the ...

Altos Labs Altos Labs, Inc. is an American biotechnology research company. Altos Labs' goal is to develop life extension therapies that can halt or reverse the Aging process, human aging process. Specialized cell therapies based on Induced pluripotent stem ...

* Alliance for Aging Research *

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the field of anti-aging medicine, and the organization trains and certifies physicians in this specialty. As of 2011, approximate ...

American Aging Association The American Aging Association is a non-profit, tax-exempt biogerontology organization of scientists and laypeople dedicated to biomedical aging studies and geroscience, with the goal of slowing the aging process to extend the healthy human lifes ...

* BioViva *

Buck Institute for Research on Aging The Buck Institute for Research on Aging is an independent biomedical research institute that researches aging and age-related disease. The mission of the Buck Institute is to extend the healthy years of life. The Buck Institute is one of nine cen ...

Calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

Cryonics Institute Cryonics Institute (CI) is an American nonprofit foundation that provides cryonics services. CI freezes dead humans and pets in liquid nitrogen with the hope of restoring them with technology in the future. History The Cryonics Institute was fo ...

International Longevity Alliance The International Longevity Alliance (ILA) is an international nonprofit organization that is a platform for interaction between regional organizations that support anti-aging technologies, usually at the administrative and popularization levels. ...

* LEV Foundation *

Life Extension Advocacy Foundation The Lifespan Extension Advocacy Foundation (LEAF) is a non-profit organization with mission to support fundamental research on the main mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases and educate the public on the possibility of bringing aging under ...

* Life Extension Foundation *

Methuselah Foundation The Methuselah Foundation is an American-based global non-profit organization, based in Springfield, Virginia, with a declared mission to "make 90 the new 50 by 2030" by supporting tissue engineering and regenerative medicine therapies. The orga ...

– non-profit organization dedicated to extending the healthy human lifespan by advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine therapies. It was co-founded in 2003 by Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel, and is based in Springfield, Virginia, United States. *

SENS Research Foundation The SENS Research Foundation is a non-profit organization that does research programs and public relations work for the application of regenerative medicine to aging. It was founded in 2009, located in Mountain View, California, USA. The organiza ...

– 501(c)(3) non-profit organization co-founded by Michael Kope,

Aubrey de Grey Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey (; born 20 April 1963) is an English author and biomedical gerontologist. He is the author of ''The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging'' (1999) and co-author of ''Ending Aging'' (2007). He is known ...

, Jeff Hall, Sarah Marr and Kevin Perrott, which is based in Mountain View, California, United States. Its activities include research programs and public relations work for the application of regenerative medicine to aging.

Notable people

Leonard Hayflick Leonard Hayflick (born 20 May 1928) is a Professor of Anatomy at the UCSF School of Medicine, and was Professor of Medical Microbiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a past president of the Gerontological Society of America and ...

Zoltan Istvan Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan (born March 30, 1973), is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist. Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now wr ...

* Saul Kent *

Cynthia Kenyon Cynthia Jane Kenyon (born February 21, 1954) is an American molecular biologist and biogerontologist known for her genetic dissection of aging in a widely used model organism, the roundworm ''Caenorhabditis elegans''. She is the vice president of ...

Durk Pearson Durk Pearson (born 1943 in Illinois) is a research scientist best known for coauthoring a series of books on longevity, beginning with '' Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach''. Early life While a student at the Massachusetts Instit ...

* Sandy Shaw *

David Andrew Sinclair David Andrew Sinclair (born June 26, 1969) is an Australian biologist and academic known for his research on aging and epigenetics. Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and is the co-director of its Paul F. Glenn Center ...

Roy Walford Roy Lee Walford, M. D. (June 29, 1924 – April 27, 2004) was a professor of pathology at University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, a leading advocate of calorie restriction for life extension and health improvement, and a crew m ...

Michael D. West Michael D. West (born in Niles, Michigan on 28 April 1953) is an American biogerontologist, and a pioneer in stem cells, cellular aging and telomerase. He is the founder and CEO of AgeX Therapeutics, a startup focused on the field of experime ...

References

External links

* https://www.sens.org/ {{Outline footer

life extension Life extension is the concept of extending the human life expectancy, lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled oldest people, limit of 125 years. S ...

Life extension lists