We cannot defeat death, but we will eventually overcome aging

Text ｜ Wang Zhao (Professor of Tsinghua University)

More than a hundred years ago, aging was not important for scientists. Because the life expectancy of human beings was relatively short, the disease caused most people to die before aging. Scientists focus on studying and treating diseases, while the thinking about aging is left to philosophers and theologians.

In the past 100 years, the rapid development of science and technology has grown significantly. At the same time, the research of aging biology at home and abroad is booming, and more and more scientists pay attention to aging.

1

In recent years, the research of aging biology has made great development and remarkable achievements. At the same time, the level and average life of human health have improved significantly, but the evidence of direct connection between the two needs to be enriched.

As one of the branches of biology, the rapid development of aging biology benefits from the progress of basic biology. The exploration of genes, molecules, and cell levels has made traditional aging biology research. New discoveries such as cell removal and stem cell repair are endless, but the essence of aging and the significance of death have not yet been explained.

Among the millions of years of human evolution, human beings basically sprinkled people before their prime or adults. Only in the last two or three hundred years did they have the so -called "aging".

Outstanding evolutionary biologist, Shi Dopustesky, once said: "In biology, nothing is meaningful unless it is from the perspective of evolution."

Aging is such an event that needs to observe and study from the perspective of evolution.

From the perspective of biological evolution, the body only needs to survive to ensure that the age of breeding is enough.

Once this task is completed, the body itself is no longer needed (the author of "selfish genes" Doukins to describe the body as a "survival machine") -Thisy.

We know that the essence of evolution is natural selection and survival of the fittest, then we should understand that death is the essential of evolution of human (or biological world), because the natural selection and survival of the fittest in the evolutionary death and new life are realized.

Therefore, in addition to the exploration of micro -levels such as aging, molecular, cells, etc., it is necessary to think and explain from the perspective of group evolution, so as to be closer to its essence and understand its true meaning.

Aging is a non -adaptive feature. Its adverse effects occur after the breeding starts, so the choice of pressure is neutral, that is, aging will neither improve nor reduce the amount of population.

The aging that occurred after the breeding period has been separated from the scope of natural selection and the track of biological evolution (all kinds of beneficial or harmful genetic mutations that occur after breeding periods cannot enter the long river of population progress). Evolution is not so great (at least in the short period of evolutionary long river), it still has positive significance for individuals and social culture (as an external factor, this significance will also affect the optimization and evolution of population groups).

From the perspective of evolution, we may not be able to defeat death, but we will eventually overcome aging.

It turns out that this is indeed the case.

In the past few hundred years, the life expectancy of human beings has been significantly extended. The average expectations of Europeans and Americans have doubled from the beginning of the 18th century to the present. - From 35 years old to 77 when the New China was just established.

However, since its own history, the maximum life expectancy of human beings has not changed significantly, and it has remained around 120 years old.

After careful analysis, we should see that over the past few hundred years, the extension of human life and the breeding and evolution of population has not significantly.

The extension of human life has basically occurred after the reproductive period, and its childhood, adolescence, and reproductive period did not extend properly with the extension of life.

For example, the physiological cycle of women, as early as 2000 years ago, in the ancient Chinese philosophy and medical masterpiece "The Yellow Emperor's Canon", there is "Women ... Two Seven and Tian Gui, Renmai Tong, Taichong Pulse, the moon is currently under the current, and the moon is currently. Therefore, there are sons ... Seven or seven veins are deficient, and the pulse is too small, the heavens are exhausted, and the authenticity is not connected, so the shape is bad but no child. "

This shows that at that time, the age of women was about 14 years old, and the menopause age was about 49 years old. Today, after 2000, women's initial tide age is still 12-16 years old, and menopause age is 45-55 years old. There was no obvious difference before 2000, but the life expectancy of humans had been greatly extended.

It can be inferred that the extension of this maximum life span and the average life expectancy is not caused by innate factors such as evolution and genetic, but mainly factors such as acquired and environmental, such as the development of medical and health, the improvement of scientific and technological levels, and the improvement of the level of science and technology. The progress of social civilization, as well as improvement of nutritional supply, lifestyle, and living environment.

If the words are considered, the increase in the life expectancy of human beings today can only be regarded as a extension rather than a real life. The aging is the accompanying product brought by the extension of this expected life.

2

Compared to the life and death of evolution, aging may be incomprehensible. Why does the life form that has evolved in billions of years in nature ends in the form of aging? Is the evolution of life's compromise on nature, or the restraint of nature's evolution of life? In fact, from the perspective of evolution, the life period after breeding is the grace of nature.

The maximum life span (day of the day) of human beings is the result of the evolution of species. By selecting the genes that can promote reproduction capabilities and retain them and inherit it, the maximum life expectancy of human beings has been There is almost no change; aging is a random process, not (completely) is an evolutionary event. We often say that life must go through life, old, sick, and dead. Careful analysis, life and death are evolutionary incidents, which are inevitable. It is the fate in destiny, and we should be indifferent.

To a large extent, aging and diseases are not evolutionary incidents, not necessarily that they must happen. They are the luck in fate. They can delay, reduce, eliminate or change the methods of various science and technology, especially medical and health. The history of the past one or two hundred years has fully proved this.

More than a hundred years ago, aging was not important for biologists. At that time, the life expectancy of human beings was short. Many people died at birth, and many women died during childbirth. The disease caused most people to die before aging.

At that time, biologists focused on studying and treating these diseases, while the thinking about aging was left to philosophers and theologians. Therefore, the rigorous and scientific research on aging biology exists only in the past 100 years.

The flowers bloom, and the four seasons are changing. Just like young, young, young and middle -aged, the elderly is also part of our life process, and it is the most harvest time in our lives.

From this perspective, there is an incomplete life without the elderly life and a life of death.

We enjoy our childhood, adolescents, parents 'care and teachers' education; enjoying our young people and middle age, family warmth and career success.

So, for the old age we have welcomed in the first half of our lives and accumulated a certain spiritual and material wealth, do we have any reasons for not enjoying and lamenting?

The elderly, as an indispensable part of the process of life, connects life and death, just like pulling the day in the left hand at dusk, and holding the night in the right hand tightly, it is an indispensable stage of change.

Therefore, the research on aging is essentially the pursuit of health, not the immortal competition.

3

Regardless of the mechanism of aging from the perspective of biology or sociology, and seeking measures and methods to explore the year of heaven and healthy aging, everyone can be old and endless, live without illness, peace and peace, and enjoy the year of heaven. Human health and social prosperity and development are of great significance and will have a profound impact. This is also the historical mission and social duties of our aging biology researchers.

This sense of mission is the fundamental motivation for our translation and publishing "Aging Biology".

The "Aging Biology" written by R.B. McDonald, an honorary professor of Nutrition Department of the University of California, California, is the first internationally textbook in the world with the theme of biology aging. Mechanism and factors that affect life.

As the author said, the second edition of a textbook related textbooks can be available, generally two reasons: the first edition is widely praised, and the new research finds that the content of the first version looks a little outdated.

The first edition of this book has been widely recognized and praised at home and abroad, and the Chinese version of its Chinese version has received strong support and enthusiastic encouragement of colleagues and teachers and students in the field of aging research in China. The development of disciplines, related research results are all full of flowers and endless layers, and related colleges and departments of various universities in China have also set up "aging biology" related courses.

The second edition of "Aging Biology" was released when aging biology studies were booming at home and abroad. In response to the eager expectations of colleagues in the school and the invitation of the publishing house, we also presented the Chinese version of "Aging Biology" (the second edition of the original).

From the basic concept, "Aging Biology" discusses the discovery of aging biology at the level of cell level, heredity and evolution in a simple concept, and how to promote our understanding of how aging and aging today, elaborate on aging, diseases, diseases The relationship between life expectancy, and discusses which efforts can be intervened through the rate of aging, reduce the occurrence of diseases, extend life processes, and improve the quality of survival.

The whole book is divided into three parts, a total of 11 chapters: Chapter 1 to 2 Introduce the more common basic concepts of aging biology in scientific research and clinical applications; Chapter 3-6 introduces aging biology discovery in the field of evolution, cells and genetics, and And how these findings affect our perception of the cause and process of aging; Chapter 7-10 introduces the application of basic scientific knowledge involved in the first chapters in human aging and longevity, as well as the relationship between aging and elderly diseases; and second The newly added chapter 11 in the version focuses on how to affect social development and cultural construction.

The advancement of human science and technology, especially pharmaceutical technology, has brought us a healthy and average life expectancy. One day, it will also bring us healthy aging and maximum life span of no disability and rarely diseases. This is not a dream.

"Source_name": "Dangdang", "Audit_State": 1, "main_img": "https://img.zhls.qq.com/3/f2dd0073e2a59b7a3badfef.jpg""2)", "Current_price": 22790, "first_category_id": "10", "appuin": "3075193232", "Isnewcpskol": 1 " />" Journal of China "(2022-08-05 3rd version of reading readingCure

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