Since the beginning of time, impossible beauty standards have been written in stone like staying young and lighting the insecurity of aging. Young is beautiful, young is handsome, young will fit me in with society. It’s always been about the craving to look young and acceptable. The cure for aging has always been on the hunt. Humans rely on things like anti-aging creams, pills, botox, diets, makeup, and lasering. Although recently researchers have found the secrets to what could lead to a cure for aging. This has even started the extreme claim that the first person to live up to 1,000 years old is among us, how could this be true?
Since researchers have not developed a cure for staying young, yet, the anti-aging market is the next best option. Statista, a statistics program, has estimated the global anti-aging market to be worth about 58.8 billion U.S dollars as of 2020 and by 2030 it’s estimated to be around 422.8 billion U.S dollars. But things might take a huge turn by 2035 because of what scientists are uncovering.
In 2017, the average life expectancy of Americans was 78 years old, by 2060 it's projected to be 85 years old but with this
Pexels, Public Domain new breakthrough from the Sens Research Foundation, the actual life expectancy will be much higher. Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., a biomedical gerontologist, believes there is a code for “immortality.” And he has found that a part of the code is stem cell therapy; a therapy that introduces new healthy cells into the body to replace the old and diseased cells.
Aging is essentially the body's reaction to functioning consistently non-stop. With no off switch, the breaking down of the body begins as soon as life is conceived. The way Dr. de Grey compares his theory is how cars last. Cars aren’t made to last forever but at least for up to 10 years. So, with this fact known, how are there still cars working superbly from 100 years ago? The answer is simple, it’s because of preventative maintenance.
Something that has helped researchers is studying “super-agers.” These people live exceptionally long with many cases have been people who are still in perfect condition by the age of eighty which gives them an extra kick of life to last into their hundreds. They’re gaining much data from the DNA contained in these people. But there are many more components that are being studied for the furthering of this operation like drugs. With reverse aging advancing so much, Dr. de Grey predicts that we will have a treatment that ensures us 20 or more years of life within the next 15 years.
Elon Musk even backed up the possibility of interfering with aging in an interview where he said, “I mean, I think with enough effort that’s not too crazy, you could probably stop aging, reverse it if you want… You can turn someone into a freaking butterfly if you want with the right DNA sequence.” Even though Elon doesn’t spend his life studying everything about human anatomy, that doesn’t mean he’s not an intelligent man and we should discredit his perspective here.
So, what would happen if scientists succeed in their search for prolonged youth? Is living longer than a normal lifespan worth it? No, death is essential for a healthy ecosystem, and without it, the earth would be overpopulated. Maybe an extra 20-25 years is exceptional but more than that would have a horrible impact on life as we know it. The selfishness of wanting to stay young is not worth the consequences it would create for our future. Overpopulation would cause chaos, over-demanding in every aspect, and would ultimately change our perception of time itself. Aging should be embraced; no fountain of youth is needed to be beautiful. White hair and wrinkles have a story, it’s proof of your existence and life. If we get used to extending our lives, when will we ever face death, accept death? It will just make us run from it.
All that’s left is to wait. Scientists have a great explanation and idea of what they’re doing, so now we wait for them to come forth with the destruction of life.
About the Author:
Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Berta but I go by Kitty.
I have two very loving pets: a cat and dog to be exact. My hobbies are collecting, singing on the youth praise team, and board games!