Last time I talked about telomeres and their effect/ importance in the process of aging. Today I will be touching on the different fields or subdivisions of anti-aging research. Before I start, these divisions were not created by me but I believe this is a good way to look at the field. I credit this philosophy to a man named Aubrey de Grey.
Dr. de Grey posses a theory in which there are 3 types of ways to study the process of aging rather than the current approach of 2. Today those fields are geriatrics, the study of how to make people age happier and treating pathology, and gerontology, the study of how we age (ex. our metabolism). De grey approves of these fields but also presents a third approach, and that is, maintenance or the solving the problem of damage accumulation.
After all, aging is just the process of irreversible damage accumulation, irreversible by today’s methods. Dr. de Grey is, by definition, a gerontologist but his true passion lies with the maintenance approach. He believes the answer to solving the problem of aging lies in this not yet established field.
I know so little about the field of aging but I can see promise in this approach but I’m not sure if it will be the answer. In-fact there may not be one answer, instead the answer may be a combination of all sorts of not yet discovered treatments.
Aubrey de Grey gives a fantastic TEDx talk about his ideas on this matter and I urge you to take a few minutes and watch. This is truly fascinating stuff that might, one day, become a pivotal piece to humanity. After all, immortality is only a lifetime away.
I found Dr. De Grey’s theory very interesting! Does he have a plan of action for how he wants to advance his proposed field of study?
Judging by the comments some people left after de Grey’s talk, they don’t put much stock in what he says.
I wonder if maintenance will be product between the metabolism and pathology parts.