Secret to a longer life lies on Easter Island

[Soylent Brice]

Scientists have found an anti-ageing drug that works on mice – and could do the same for humans

A drug originating on Easter Island, the mysterious South Pacific home of a lost statue-building people, may become the first substance to slow down human ageing, new research indicates.


Rapamycin, a pharmacological product used to prevent rejection in organ transplants, has been found to extend the lifespan of mice by up to 38 per cent, raising the possibility that it may delay ageing in people.

Hitherto a matter for science fiction, the idea of an anti-ageing drug which would allow people to prolong their natural lifespan and also to avoid age-related diseases is now being seriously considered for the first time as a result of the findings by American researchers.

Rapamycin is a bacterial product originally found in a soil sample from Easter Island, the Polynesian extinct volcano famous for its monumental statues erected hundreds of years ago by the island people, and known in the region as Rapa Nui – hence the drug's name. Originally developed as an anti-fungal agent, rapamycin was soon found to have powerful immuno-suppressant properties and thus be valuable for preventing rejection of transplanted organs. It was also found to delay the ageing process when used experimentally with three sets of lower organisms: yeast, nematode worms and fruit flies.

more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/secret-to-a-longer-life-lies-on-easter-island-1738055.html

[alfredo]

1. The way the environment is changing, I'm not sure I want to extend

my alloted years.

[Soylent Brice]

2. i would love to live forever.

if only to see flying cars.

*sigh*

[liberal N proud]

4. We were supposed to have those by now

[Soylent Brice]

6. exactly. i'm willing to hold out.

no matter how long it takes.

[alfredo]

13. I'd be happy to see air conditioners in electric cars.

[elocs]

3. A longer life does not necessarily mean a better life.

As for myself, I have absolutely no desire to live to be 100. I have no desire to outlive my family and friends or to end up being a potted plant in some nursing home hallway.

[Soylent Brice]

5. "a potted plant in some nursing home hallway"

you owe me a new keyboard.

[elocs]

7. Sadly, my mom has been in a nursing home for 12 years now

and I've seen that each time I visit. She lives in the big now which has collapsed onto itself until it really is only "now". She hasn't recognized me in years now. Quality of life is a very important aspect to me.

[summerbreeze]

8. yes, it is very important.

[Soylent Brice]

25. that SUCKS.

quality of life should be important to everyone.

[alfredo]

14. Death defines life.

[lumberjack_jeff]

21. I agree with Covert Bailey. I want do die at age 95, shot by a jealous husband. n/t

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. Just what the earth needs....more people

[jasi2006]

10. Hmmm. Wonder if it a new material or selenium in the soil?

Sounds very promising.

[chaplainM]

12. The article states that it's a "bacterial product."

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. Oh, it's probably the selenium.

Or the magic stone heads. Says right there in the article.

:eyes:

[TreasonousBastard]

11. This will solve the underpopulation problem and

give families and extra 20 years or so of gleefully caring for their aged relatives.

Think of the reality shows-- people watching thier inheritances disappearing with the nursing home bills.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. The difference is, an anti-aging agent would counter many of the

illnesses that make nursing homes necessary.

It means that more people would live like my great-grandmother, who stayed in her own apartment until she was 99, and spent only two years in a home before dying at 101.

If I knew I would be alert, functional and independent until the last year or two I would love to live past 100. I don't want to spend 4 years in a box not knowing who I am, the way my father did before dying at 78.

A long, fruitful life followed by a quick decline would obviate the need for 80% of nursing home care.

[Subdivisions]

16. Are there still Easter Islanders? n/t

[DCKit]

18. The population fell from tens of thousands to 14 after the Dutch blessed them with disease...

which came after their own ecological devastation of the island which led to wars and, possibly, cannibalism.

Many who now live there claim to have the ancestry.

But it's interesting - did the initial population grow so large because they were exposed to this drug in their daily lives?

[Subdivisions]

24. They gobbled themselves up. n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Last I heard, there still are, although they have been...

moving off the island. May have all moved off by now, but I'd have to have the minimal energy needed to look it up.

Back in the 50's. Thor Hyerdahl wrote a book, "Aku-Aku," where he described the history of the island and the war betweeen the "long ears" and the "short ears" that almost wiped both of them out. There were descnedants of the long ears around at the time, and there were pictures in the book showing how they built and erected the huge statues.

I don't remember if anyone remembered WHY they built the statues.

[Subdivisions]

23. Yes, Easter Island is a very interesting subject. And, a microcosm

the limits of growth. They literally consumed all of that which sustained them. Extrapolate that to the wider world and, eventually, the wider world follows them into oblivion. A good study of petroleum dynamics provides a good primer.

[lumberjack_jeff]

20. Not so many... like zero. Not exactly a good testimonial for Rapamycin. n/t

[Subdivisions]

22. Ding! Ding! n/t