Community Magazine April 2014

44 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Blood vessels lose their elasticity (arteriosclerosis) and cease to function properly. Parkinson’s disease and diabetes develop. Memory declines. And so on and so forth. It now appears that there is a common cause for the seemingly endless list of afflictions of age. Although the issue remains subject to some controversy, a scientific consensus is emerging that the root cause of all aging processes is genetic. According to Professor Caleb Finch of the Department of Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Southern California, “we are convinced that the rate of aging is under genetic control.” The body does not wear out in the way that a car or washing machine wears out after years of faithful service. Rather, the human body contains certain genes that cause all the havoc listed above. In other words, we all suffer from genetic defects. If our defective genes could be identified, and their effects neutralized through genetic engineering, the human lifespan could be extended, perhaps very considerably. This exciting possibility, discovered by scientistswho study aging, is responsible for the dramatic pronouncements quoted above. Genetically Engineered Longevity The idea that genes cause aging has received significant support from the research of Professor MarkAzbel, formerly at Moscow State University and now at Tel Aviv University. In a series of pioneering papers, Professor Azbel shows that the extensive mortality data for human beings can all be explained by assuming a genetic basis for aging and death. He emphasizes that “there exists a genetically programmed probability to die at a given age . . . that age may be genetically manipulated.” Experiments that alter the genetic structure of laboratory specimens have already produced striking results. A favorite subject for study is a small nematode worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) that has 13,000 genes. Professor Tom Johnson of the University of Colorado discovered that changing a single gene, aptly named age-1 , doubles the maximum lifespan of this nematode. Professor Michael Rose of the University of California has genetically engineered a new strain of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) that live almost twice as long as their standard laboratory-reared counterparts. Moreover, these “superior” flies are “more robust at every age. Even when they are old, many are stronger than ordinary young specimens.” Similarly, Professor Michal Jazwinski has identified several genes that prolong the life of brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Not only does introducing the gene LAG-1 extend the lifespan, but “yeast cells that bear this gene maintain their youth longer.” Forever Young For readers who find incredible the suggestion that genetically engineered living creatures could have enormous lifespans, we point out that even now there are many animals that do not seem to grow old. Their low mortality rate of youth never rises, their bodies exhibit no signs of aging, and they continue to bear offspring throughout their lives. These animals remain biologically young for as long as they live. ProfessorLeonardHayffickof theUniversityofCaliforniaexplains: “Some animals do not seem to age at all. If they do age, it occurs at such a slow rate that their aging has not been demonstrated. These non-aging animals experience a peak in their physiological actions, but these functions do not seem to decline. . . . Non-aging animals do not live forever because of accidents, disease and predation.” Perhaps the most astounding data come from the field studies of the Scottish ornithologist George Dunnet, who has spent a lifetime observing a colony of marine birds called fulmars on the Orkney Islands. Dunnet reports that “fulmars show no increase in mortality rate and no decline in reproduction up to at least the age of 40 years. The Steady Decrease in Lifespan after the Time of Noah The Book of Beresheet records the following three important differences between the generations that lived immediately after the time of Noah (10th generation since creation) and those that lived earlier: 1. The lifespan decreased steadily after Noah (959 years), with no one living for more than 240 years after Ever (14th generation). After Moshe (26th generation), there is no instance recorded in the Bible of anyone living significantly longer than 120 years, which remains to this day the maximum human lifespan. 2. Men no longer sired children at an advanced age. After Shem (11th generation), the childbearing age dropped to the 30’s, just as today. Indeed, when Avraham and Sarah (20th generation) became parents at ages 100 and 90 years, respectively, the Torah describes the event as miraculous. 3. For the first time, people are described as becoming old and infirm. Aging in later life is a characteristic feature of the patriarchs and matriarchs (20th-22nd generations). This applies to Avraham and Sarah (Beresheet 18:11-13), to Yitzhak (27:1-2), and to Yaakov (48:10). Changing a single gene, aptly named age-1, doubles the maximum lifespan of the nematode worm. Professor Michael Rose of the University of California has genetically engineered a new strain of fruit flies that live almost twice as long as their standard laboratory-reared counterparts. Moreover, these “superior” flies are “more robust at every age. Even when they are old, many are stronger than ordinary young specimens.”