What is longevity: Definition and 22 Discussions

Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas life expectancy is defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth is the same as the average age at death for all people born in the same year (in the case of cohorts).
Longevity studies may involve putative methods to extend life. Longevity has been a topic not only for the scientific community but also for writers of travel, science fiction, and utopian novels. The legendary fountain of youth appeared in the work of the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus.
There are difficulties in authenticating the longest human life span, owing to inaccurate or incomplete birth statistics. Fiction, legend, and folklore have proposed or claimed life spans in the past or future vastly longer than those verified by modern standards, and longevity narratives and unverified longevity claims frequently speak of their existence in the present.
A life annuity is a form of longevity insurance.

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  1. Vanadium 50

    How long can a hard disk last?

    There are some messages complaining how this, that or the other didn't last. I thought I'd share a counterexample. I was looking at SMART logs and one of my disks has been in constant use for over 12 years - a Western Digital Re. I believe this is post "Caviar" and pre "Colors". 100,000+ hours...
  2. M

    Medical Does the human brain really have a limit for memory storage?

    I recently read that the “functional information content of human memory" as 10^9 bits at midlife based on testing of text and image retention” It makes sense that anything biological would have a limit but memory is such a strange thing that I can’t see how it would be like storing bytes on a...
  3. G

    I'm a genomic student in pursuit of the fountain of youth!

    My studies are motivated by the dream of eternal youth, and all the implications of eternal youth for society at large. Currently, my studies primarily revolve around the topics of telomere maintenance, and cellular senescence. My current theory for the attainment of eternal youth involves the...
  4. T

    Can Falling in Love Increase Longevity? Psychology & Science Explained

    Hi again all, hope you are all doing great and enjoying the spring as well as nice weather. This is sort of a continuation thread of my falling in love thread here that I posted a while back but with a new question witch is: Can I get the same effect to live longer by falling in love, having sex...
  5. G

    Longevity of 120V- vs. 240V-wired motor?

    The 2hp dual-capacitor motor on my bandsaw can be wired for either 220V (draws up to 10 amps) or 110V (draws up to 20 amps). I need to install a new circuit whichever I decide (30 amp circuit for the 110V configuration). Am I correct in assuming the performance of the motor, such as amount of...
  6. R

    Increasing the longevity of galvanized steel fence in production

    I need help with a galvanized steel fence that will be powder coated black. I am ordering it from China and I don't know what specs to ask for in order to make sure it lasts 25+ years easy without maintenance. I need ideas to fullproof the longevity factor on this fence. I am aiming to get to...
  7. I

    Hormone Longevity: What is the Typical Duration?

    I had a hard time finding an answer to this one: Do hormones that are created by the body get to stick around much in the body? What I mean by this is, are they just "one-use" items or do they last longer in the body and can be useful long-term too? For example, if we get angry, once we calm...
  8. stevendaryl

    Reason for different animals' longevity

    Is there a biological consensus about why some species live so much longer than other species? You can sort of understand aging as a matter of the body just wearing out with time. But that doesn't explain why, for instance, dogs go through a similar aging process as humans (gray hair, arthritis...
  9. L

    The longevity of man-made objects and structures

    I'm beginning a science fiction novel that begins a billion, or possibly several billions, of years in the future. Given the best quality structures humans can make out of the longest lasting materials we have, what would buildings and other structures look like after that long of a period of...
  10. inuk2600

    Can Evolution Hold the Key to Achieving Healthy Longevity Beyond 1000 Years?

    True life extension, the kind that will give us a thousand healthy years is a problem mired in complexity so many orders of magnitude deep that it's difficult to imagine, although not impossible, that we will come to the solution through merely supplement cocktails, gene therapy...
  11. R

    Battery acid counter balance for longevity

    I collect branded goods and came across this old Energiser battery which had been left at one of those communal recycle collection points in our local supermarket, what a find, it's the old ones that I remember from my childhood and labelled as "Made in Britain" (my God, that must have been some...
  12. O

    The Mystery of Door Hinge Longevity: How Do They Last So Long?

    The door hinges inside my place are pretty old; I'd guess a few decades though I don't have any way of knowing for sure. I do have experience with metal on metal rubbing and degradation. So I wonder, why can door hinges open and close for a long time, and not wear away? I don't think I've...
  13. Pythagorean

    Drink your children's blood for longevity

    Ok, well don't drink it, but they do owe you a couple years don't they? http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2011/august/aging-brain.html "The mixing of old and young blood produced changes in both the young and the old mice’s brains. For one thing, the older mouse in these pairs produced more new...
  14. E

    Medical Urushiol longevity in the body

    How would/could direct sunlight cause a reocurrence of an urushiol-type rash almost a year after first notice? Does it attach to certain types of cells and remain in the lymphatic system permanently?
  15. O

    Aspirin and the longevity of plants?

    I've heard that adding crushed aspirin to cut flowers improves the lifetime of flowers. Is this really true?
  16. Monique

    Medical Can Glucosamine Supplements Extend Lifespan Through Enhanced Autophagy?

    Glucosamine is linked to increased rates of autophagy (when a cell digests its own subcellular organs) and there is speculation that this could lead to increased life-span (because of increased self-renewal). This is of course very interesting. I was wondering whether there is any evidence...
  17. S

    Longevity of Stau (supersymmetric particle)

    In the New Scientist of 5 July 2008 is an article 'Crucible of Creation' on pp 28 - 31. Part of it concerns the ratio of the isotopes Li-6 and Li-7 which formed just after the Big Bang. They discuss the work of Maxim Pospelov of the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. Pospelov proposes...
  18. U

    Questions on e/m wave longevity

    I have said this to a friend, but I am not sure if it is true. If we imagine a photon traveling in interstellar space, there is nothing to interact with so it will continue to move in its direction forever, or until it finds something to interact with (such as matter). Infrared light is made...
  19. B

    Mice and Yeast Lifespans: Does SCH9 + SIR2 Knockout Increase Longevity?

    Does knocking out SCH9 and SIR2 in mice increase their lifespans by 6 times? Longo said age-dependent mutations increase at a remarkably low pace in organisms lacking both SCH( and SIR2 but does that apply to mice as well as yeast?
  20. B

    Unlocking Cell Longevity: Understanding Telomere Extension

    How long could you make/lengthen the telomere of a cell?
  21. I

    Vertical lift aircraft fuel longevity

    Anyone know how long a typical let's say news helicopter can last in the air given how much fuel it holds? I am not sure but I heard a news helicopter or a police helicopter probably won't last more than 3 hours in the air. Some military transport helicopters can only do about 2 and attack...
  22. S

    Exploring the Effects of Sirtuin Activators on Human Longevity

    Sirtuins are enzymes which repair telemeres that deteriorate to cause aging. They are normally released in response to stress such as calorie restriction or low insulin levels, but sir2 can be stimulated by certain chemicals. Why is it unfeasible to take molecules like resveratrol (found in red...
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