Newsletter

Longevity2021-08-07

Longevity in humans is due in part to the need to grow their large brains during adolescence, and to help grow the large brains of their progeny during later years. Reasons that slow aging are having, or planning to have, young progeny (children more so than grandchildren); the need to accumulate resources for them; having behaviors and thoughts that are not yet widely disseminated and taught; improving the environment and world in which yourself, your progeny, and your extended kin live.

Having reasons to live and hope for success, in a favorable environment, may promote active longevity and slow aging of an organism. A “life switch”¹ may be turned up by happiness, hope for progress, and having meaning- being needed in the game of life.

The key is to balance being needed and active longevity (rebuilding) with the avoidance of wear and tear which leads to passive aging (shielding). Conversely, the perception of not being needed leads to active aging (dismantling), as planned obsolescence to get out of the way of your progeny and extended kin. Lack of hope for the future can even lead to suicide²,³.

We have developed tools to make life better, and improve longevity: https://mindxsciences.com/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

Footnotes

1. Rangaraju S, Levey DF, Nho K, Jain N, Andrews KD, Le-Niculescu H et al. Mood, stress and longevity: convergence on ANK3. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21(8): 1037-1049. ↩

2. Niculescu AB, Levey DF, Phalen PL, Le-Niculescu H, Dainton HD, Jain N et al. Understanding and predicting suicidality using a combined genomic and clinical risk assessment approach. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20(11): 1266-1285. ↩

3. Levey DF, Niculescu EM, Le-Niculescu H, Dainton HL, Phalen PL, Ladd TB et al. Towards understanding and predicting suicidality in women: biomarkers and clinical risk assessment. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21(6): 768-785. ↩