Ancient Considerations of Aging and Longevity
In 350 BC, Aristotle wrote "The reasons for some animals being long-lived and others short-lived, and, in a word, causes of the length and brevity of life call for investigation. The necessary beginning to our inquiry is a statement of the difficulties about these points. For it is not clear whether in animals and plants universally it is a single or diverse cause that makes some to be long-lived, others short-lived. Plants too have in some cases a long life, while in others it lasts but for a year. Further, in a natural structure are longevity and a sound constitution coincident, or is shortness of life independent of unhealthiness? Perhaps in the case of certain maladies a diseased state of the body and shortness of life are interchangeable, while in the case of others ill-health is perfectly compatible with long life." Slow progress in the investigation of aging and longevity in the centuries since has never been due to a lack of interest, but rather the lack of capable technology. Now that we have the needed biotechnology, isn't it time to move vigorously forward and finish the job?