Humans have tried to escape their mortality with the help of pills and potions that are often blended with a huge dose of hope for centuries. The search for long life and immortality is nothing new. According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian king had searched for the secrets of immortality after his best friend died. Records of at least three Chinese emperors who died consuming treatments that were supposed to make them immortal can also be found. A French-American physiologist injected himself with animal testicle extracts in a bid to achieve immortality in the late 19^th century.

The quest for immortality has been going on for centuries, but man isn’t any closer to unraveling the secrets of eternal life anymore than he was all those years ago. Today, things like immortality are often associated with science fiction and are usually greeted with a mixture of laughter and embarrassment. However, conversations and studies surrounding longevity are another matter altogether. In fact, researchers are actually quite optimistic about the efforts to delay the effects of aging and extend a person’s life span in the near future.

At the same time, many experts in the scientific field are also wary about these treatments being marketed as the fountain of youth. According to Dr. S. Olshansky, a professor working for the University of Illinois, Chicago, things are worse today than ever before. He mentions that the moment scientists start to show a glimmer of hope in the field of longevity, the marketeers are all over it.

One of the secrets to unraveling the secrets of longevity is to understand the treatments and processes that could help to slow down the rate at which the human body grows old. This should also help doctors to ensure that their patients stay healthier for a longer period of time. It might not be possible for science to reverse the aging process altogether, but it might be entirely possible to slow down its progress so that one year in terms of clock time might not be same as one year for the body. This could at least help with delaying issues like dementia, stroke and cancer – issues that become more prevalent with old age.

According to Dr. James Kirkland, the head of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, it might be possible to delay major age-related chronic issues by targeting the fundamental aging process altogether. For example, it would be better to delay issues like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease altogether than to have to cure a person for cancer, only to lose him to a stroke 6 months later. Dr. Kirkland also mentions that numerous studies have already come up in peer-reviewed journals that helped to increase the life span for mice. The goal is to see if the same can be replicated for human beings. The idea is to ensure that a person feels like someone who’s 60 years old at the age of 90.

Researchers are also studying centenarians to determine if there are specific genes that have helped them to live on for 100 years. One noteworthy examination was made by Dr. Barzilai, who said that the naturally lower levels of growth activity in most centenarians that he studied were important to their survival.

Dr. Barzilai points out that people are well aware of the aging process and are trying to find ways to interfere. However, many of these interferences are actually causing more harm than good. He also says that there might be some processes that might be beneficial, but still remain to be undiscovered. Ultimately, the researchers agree that instead of searching for “fixes”, it makes sense to lead a healthy lifestyle and concentrate on areas that are within one’s control. This is where things like healthy diet, exercising and proper skin care comes in.