Aging is inevitable: the opinion of optimists
Russian scientists have questioned the inevitability of aging
Aging is not inevitable from a mathematical point of view, and the process of decrepitude of cells can be slowed down to almost zero, RIA Novosti said Mathematician Peter Fedichev, Head of the laboratory at MIPT and Scientific Director of Gero.
"For the last five years, we have been looking for therapeutic approaches to the problem of aging together with leading international experts in the field, and we hope to bring a solution to the market in 2-3 years that will significantly delay the onset of old age. In the near future, anti–aging drugs will eliminate age-related changes, minimize the likelihood of developing diseases and improve the quality of life of people of mature age," the scientist said.
This week, American mathematicians published an article in the journal PNAS, in which they suggested that aging cannot be stopped in principle – the removal of "elderly" cells and the launch of the process of competition between cells will inevitably lead to the development of cancer, and the fight against potential cancer cells will deprive the body of the ability to rejuvenate itself.
According to Fedichev, such an idea does not quite correctly reflect what already exists in nature, and ignores the existence of a certain class of living beings whose organism does not actually age, or ages at an infinitesimal rate.
"Our colleagues correctly point out that the competition between the cells of a multicellular organism leads to the inevitable destruction of its tissues and death. At the same time, the authors note that there are examples of animals with negligible aging, in whose body there are no age–related physiological changes over time," the researcher continues.
As Fedichev notes, the authors of the idea of "inevitable" aging refer to one of the articles of his scientific group, in which Russian scientists describe how the genes of "ordinary" animals and humans differ from almost "immortal" creatures, such as naked diggers or some species of sea urchins.
By modeling how the work of their genes changes over time, Russian mathematicians have discovered that virtually any set of genes is inherently unstable, and that the development of this instability may be one of the main reasons why almost all organisms on earth age and die. In diggers and hedgehogs, this process begins much later than in other animals, which explains why they live so long.
"Our American colleagues quote one of our scientific publications, emphasizing that genetic regulatory mechanisms can work properly for an unlimited time if breakdowns in genes are promptly corrected at the cellular level. In this case, theoretically, it is possible to create conditions under which the cells will not fail at all," continues Fedichev.
According to American scientists, it is not possible to create such conditions in principle, since the genes responsible for repairing DNA will also break down themselves over time, which will lead to the development of cancer and an exponential increase in the chances of dying in old age. Russian mathematicians fundamentally disagree with this postulate.
"We need to understand that the protective capabilities of the body are not limited to cellular systems for correcting breakdowns. In his article , Nelson and Mazel mentions the immune system and genes that suppress the growth of tumors, which, according to them, "are able to significantly slow down aging, perhaps even to a negligible level," the mathematician emphasizes.
As Fedichev notes, these words, as well as the lack of specific data on how fast the body will age in such a situation, suggests that the authors of the idea of "inevitable aging" admit the possibility of a situation in which the cellular composition of the body stabilizes over time. In other words, there is no aging, which, in fact, refutes their own thesis.
"It should be understood that such a variant of "frozen aging" does not guarantee immortality. There are animals that practically do not age by nature: for example, naked diggers and bats. They are now being actively studied, and it is clear that these "eternally young" organisms develop serious diseases and eventually death occurs," notes Fedichev.
On the other hand, the Russian mathematician emphasizes that these animals, despite the fact that their life is finite, lack the typical signs of death and aging – they do not start to get sick anymore and do not die more often in old age. Therefore, the creation of tools that could put the human body into a similar mode of operation is one of the most promising options for combating aging. Such funds, according to the scientist, can be created in the near future, including in Russia.
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