Re:Leonard Guarente's Anti-Aging Pill
by thangalin on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @11:03PM
(#12349395)
> nature has already optimized for maximum human lifespan
Doubtful. The bowhead whale, which lives over 200 years[1], has mutations that we lack. Given that mutations happen randomly and that the dolphin genome is basically the same as the ours (with a few chromosomal rearrangements)[2], it suggests that bowheads got lucky in ways humans did not. A mere fluke.
Doubtful. The bowhead whale, which lives over 200 years[1], has mutations that we lack. Given that mutations happen randomly and that the dolphin genome is basically the same as the ours (with a few chromosomal rearrangements)[2], it suggests that bowheads got lucky in ways humans did not. A mere fluke.
Evolution hasn't finished with us, either.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowhead_whale#Lifespan
[2]: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/15002