is i have lived a thousand years a true story

With a few exceptions, each and every one of the 30 trillion cells that are your body contains a full set of DNA. They are being investigated to replace or renew damaged tissue in brain and spinal cord, in the heart, to replace teeth, restore vision and transplant new pancreatic cells to produce insulin. These cells could be used to replace those lost or damaged and be used to build new organs without the risk of rejection. We now know that these specialised cells can be rejuvenated back into pluripotent stem cells with the potential to turn into almost any other cell. During development the embryonic cell differentiates and turns into the specialised cell that is its destiny.

These cells contain all the genetic information to become any other type of cell. Stem cells may provide the answer to regeneration. If humans are to live longer than anyone has before then medical science will have to up its game. We can’t rely on this to extend life as there is little evolutionary pressure once we have had children and passed on our genes.

Natural selection is the key mechanism in evolution. I can’t tell you how to live for hundreds of years, but at the moment nobody can. A healthy, non-smoking lifestyle involving exercise, good nutrition and rewarding social interactions will maximise the chances of achieving your potential lifespan. The oldest reliably documented person was a French woman called Jeanne Calment who died in 1997 at the age of 122. Worldwide there are thought to be about 400 people older than 110 years, and more than 90 per cent of them are women.

For example, Michelangelo died in 1564 three weeks before his 89th birthday. Living to 70 or 80 years of age was not unusual in historical times. Psalm 90:10 in the Bible concedes a natural life span of three score years and 10, or fourscore for the fortunate.

Is i have lived a thousand years a true story