Human beings have been trying hard to discover and achieve the 'magical fountain of youth' ever since the day the species started understanding the concept of aging. As technology is getting advanced dramatically over the past few years, a top scientist believes that humans are not too far from developing breakthrough drugs that could help people to extend their lifespan.
200-year-old people could play football
Andrew Steele, a Biologist with a Ph.D. in Physics, in his book 'Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old' revealed that anti-aging medicines will be developed in the future. He also predicted that planet earth in the future could witness 200-year-old people playing football.
According to Steele, reversing the aging process does not mean people will look young, instead, these drugs will identify the root causes of dysfunction as people get older which will, in turn, prevent the trigger of several age-related illnesses.
Some of the age-related illnesses that could be prevented in the future include joint pain, arthritis, hip-related issues, brittle bones, among others.
Anti-aging drugs within the next 10 years
Steele believes that these magical anti-aging drugs will be developed within the next 10 years. According to Steele, drugs that will slow down the aging process could defer diseases into the future.
"Cancer isn't a hallmark of ageing. But it's caused by several of the hallmarks of aging. We can come up with treatments that slow down the whole aging process, deferring diseases into the future," Steele told The Guardian.
Understanding cell aging
A few months back, another study conducted by a team of researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering discovered the cause of cell aging. Researchers who took part in the study claimed that understanding the cause of cell aging could help humans to maintain health and youngness in the future.
"To drink from the fountain of youth, you have to figure out where the fountain of youth is, and understand what the fountain of youth is doing. We're doing the opposite; we're trying to study the reasons cells age so that we might be able to design treatments for better aging," said Nick Graham, the researcher who led the study.