4 ms·

> We really haven’t made an effort to study aging. We haven't? Just 2 seconds of googling "study aging" brings up results from places like Harvard, the NIH, RA

by WJW 5y ago

> We really haven’t made an effort to study aging. We haven't? Just 2 seconds of googling "study aging" brings up results from places like Harvard, the NIH, RAND and hundreds of other universities where people study aging all day everyday.

melling 5y ago
How much money are we spending? I’m sure it’s getting some research but compared to other medical research I don’t think it amounts to much
- hodgesrm 5y ago
  The 2020 budget request for the National Institutes on Aging was ca. $2.7B US. [1] The overall budget of the National Institutes of Health for 2020 was $42B US. [2] [1] https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget/fy-2020-justification-budget-request/fy-2020-directors-overview https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget/fy-2020-justification-b... [2] https://www.aip.org/fyi/2020/final-fy20-appropriations-national-institutes-health https://www.aip.org/fyi/2020/final-fy20-appropriations-natio...
hodgesrm 5y ago
Indeed. Geriatric medicine has been a thing for millennia. [1] I worked at the UW Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Seattle for several years in the 1980s. Research on aging was a major topic. The minimal progress on cures for Alzheimer's since that time should be sobering to anyone claiming that we can hack humans to extend lifespan significantly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geriatrics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geriatrics
- rowanG077 5y ago
  I don't feel there is any theoretical reason why humans could not live forever. Biology has already solved this problem in some organisms. Whether we are capable of solving it is a different question. But I think it's certain that it's possible for humans to become biologically immortal.
  - nradov 5y ago
    Well our cancer cells can become biologically immortal. The rest of our bodies, not so much.
    - rowanG077 5y ago
      Why can't the rest of our bodies become biologically immortal? Like I said it this seems completely obvious to me that this IS possible.
- salemh 5y ago
  Long-term side effects of drugs, and lack of accountability of these companies is certainly an issue and sometimes takes decades to come out. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-raise-risk-alzheimers-disease-201409107397 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-r... 2014 - People who had taken a benzodiazepine for three months or less had about the same dementia risk as those who had never taken one. Taking the drug for three to six months raised the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 32%, and taking it for more than six months boosted the risk by 84%. https://www.aarp.org/health/dementia/info-2019/dementia-sleep-medication.html https://www.aarp.org/health/dementia/info-2019/dementia-slee... 2019 - The study, released today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2019, included a racially diverse group of 3,068 people, ages 70 to 79, who were cognitively healthy when the study began. Researchers questioned the participants about their use of sleeping pills and culled information about them from medical records and tests of brain function over a 15-year period.

by WJW 5y ago

melling 5y ago

How much money are we spending? I’m sure it’s getting some research but compared to other medical research I don’t think it amounts to much

hodgesrm 5y ago
The 2020 budget request for the National Institutes on Aging was ca. $2.7B US. [1] The overall budget of the National Institutes of Health for 2020 was $42B US. [2] [1] https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget/fy-2020-justification-budget-request/fy-2020-directors-overview https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget/fy-2020-justification-b... [2] https://www.aip.org/fyi/2020/final-fy20-appropriations-national-institutes-health https://www.aip.org/fyi/2020/final-fy20-appropriations-natio...

hodgesrm 5y ago

Indeed. Geriatric medicine has been a thing for millennia. [1] I worked at the UW Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Seattle for several years in the 1980s. Research on aging was a major topic. The minimal progress on cures for Alzheimer's since that time should be sobering to anyone claiming that we can hack humans to extend lifespan significantly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geriatrics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geriatrics

rowanG077 5y ago
I don't feel there is any theoretical reason why humans could not live forever. Biology has already solved this problem in some organisms. Whether we are capable of solving it is a different question. But I think it's certain that it's possible for humans to become biologically immortal.
- nradov 5y ago
  Well our cancer cells can become biologically immortal. The rest of our bodies, not so much.
  - rowanG077 5y ago
    Why can't the rest of our bodies become biologically immortal? Like I said it this seems completely obvious to me that this IS possible.
salemh 5y ago
Long-term side effects of drugs, and lack of accountability of these companies is certainly an issue and sometimes takes decades to come out. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-raise-risk-alzheimers-disease-201409107397 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-r... 2014 - People who had taken a benzodiazepine for three months or less had about the same dementia risk as those who had never taken one. Taking the drug for three to six months raised the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 32%, and taking it for more than six months boosted the risk by 84%. https://www.aarp.org/health/dementia/info-2019/dementia-sleep-medication.html https://www.aarp.org/health/dementia/info-2019/dementia-slee... 2019 - The study, released today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2019, included a racially diverse group of 3,068 people, ages 70 to 79, who were cognitively healthy when the study began. Researchers questioned the participants about their use of sleeping pills and culled information about them from medical records and tests of brain function over a 15-year period.