Jeanne Calment, the oldest person in history, lived for 122 years and 164 days. Her remarkable age has inspired curiosity about human aging, but extreme longevity is rare as human bodies are designed for about 90 years. Aging is a complex process involving internal factors and environmental influences, like sunlight and toxins, which damage cells and molecules. This damage leads to the decline of bodily functions and ultimately to death.
Key aging mechanisms include genetic damage, epigenetic changes, and the shortening of telomeres—protective caps on chromosomes. Cells lose their regenerative ability as telomeres shorten, leading to aging and cell death. Stem cells, essential for tissue repair, also diminish in number and function over time. Damaged proteins accumulate in older cells, reducing their ability to function. These processes are compounded by declining intercellular communication, further weakening the body.
While science has uncovered much about aging, many mysteries remain. Advances in medicine, gene therapy, or nanotechnology might extend human lifespans, but ethical and philosophical questions arise: Should we live much longer than we do now? Jeanne Calment’s record stands as a challenge, inspiring ongoing exploration into the limits and possibilities of human life.
Vocabulary:
• Astounding: Very surprising or impressive.
• Feats: Great achievements or deeds requiring skill or effort.
• Intrinsic: Naturally belonging to something; essential.
• Decline: A gradual loss of strength, quality, or function.
• Regenerative: Having the ability to renew or restore.
• Lesions: Areas of damage or injury to tissues or cells.
• Proliferating: Rapidly increasing in number or spreading.
• Telomeres: Protective caps at the ends of chromosomes.
• Senescent: Describing cells that have stopped dividing and are aging.
• Intercellular: Occurring between cells.
Source: Ted-ED