Fountain Of Youth Is In The Blood?

What everyone wants.

Hey folks,

Well, maybe not everyone, but most. From the time Man first walked the Earth, all the way up til now, he has be seeking the Fountain of Youth. Immortality, or, Longevity to say the least. Drugs, Herbs, Lifestyle Changes, Magic, anything that claims to have promise of longer life. Maybe this is why this is such a big story.

I'm not kidding. This is all over the place. Turns out, Longevity, or the "Fountain of Youth" may actually be in the Blood. Or at least the Genes.

First up, AFP - Will you live to 100? Scientists say it's in your genes

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Explorers the world over have long sought the fountain of youth, but now researchers claim they have hit upon something tangible: genetic sequences that can predict whether you'll live to the ripe age of 100.

A team of scientists from Boston University studied over 1,000 centenarians to develop a system of genetic analysis by which they can predict -- with a 77-percent accuracy rate -- whether someone has a strong chance of "exceptional longevity," according to findings published Thursday in the journal Science.

So either you will or will not live long. It's in the Genes? I have been saying similar things for years. Commonsense and history also tells us that Genes control A LOT of what happens to us. More on that in a second. I also have a question to ask of my more Religious Friends. Seriously.

The predictions can by boiled down to the presence of 150 genetic variants, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which doctors and researchers found to be common among the elderly who live substantially longer than the average population.

Up next is TIME - Study: Extreme Longevity May Be More Genes Than Lifestyle By ALICE PARK Alice Park – Fri Jul 2, 9:15am ET

How long you live has a lot to do with your environment and lifestyle, but exceptional longevity may have even more to do with your genes. For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic recipe that accurately predicts who may live to 100 and beyond.

Scientists led by Dr. Thomas Perls at the Boston University School of Medicine conducted a genetic analysis of more than 1,000 centenarians and their matched controls and found 150 genetic variants - or snippets of DNA - that differed between the two groups. These variants identified people who lived to a very old age (past 100) with 77% accuracy, researchers found.

Further analysis identified 19 distinct genetic profiles associated with extremely long life; 90% of participants who lived to 100 possessed at least one of the signature genetic clusters. Each profile appeared to confer a different propensity to develop common age-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease, dementia or hypertension.

Then this from the AP - Closing in on genes that help people live to 100 who down plays these findings, for Political reasons. Why? Who is pushing healthier Lifestyles of diets and exercise? Yup, the First Lady. So this By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Thu Jul 1, 8:47 pm ET says don't give up on trying to be healthy.

WASHINGTON – The oldest among us seem to have chosen their parents well. Researchers closing in on the impact of family versus lifestyle find most people who live to 100 or older share some helpful genes.

But don't give up on diet and exercise just yet.

In an early step to understanding the pathways that lead to surviving into old age, researchers report in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science that a study of centenarians found most had a number of genetic variations in common.

That doesn't mean there's a quick test to determine who will live long and who won't — a healthy lifestyle and other factors are also significant, noted the team led by Paola Sebastiani and Thomas T. Perls of Boston University.

OK Pete's observations. How many of you out there know someone that lived past say 90? When you ask them, more times than not, if their Parents died of Natural Causes, then they too lived past 90. Me? I'm not so lucky in the Gene area. My Grandfather had Parkinson's, died around 65. Grandmother, Heart attack in Mid 60s. Dad, Cancer, Emphysema, etc, mid 60s. So on. so forth. So I'm looking at being closer to going than I am coming.

But I do not think longevity is the only thing controlled by Genes. Look at Wrestlers. 6 foot plus, 250 to 500 pounds? Wash board Stomachs? How many people have you seen in the gym, assuming you go, trying to do whatever they can to look like a Model or Superstar? Yet here they are, 5 foot, 110 pounds. Never going to happen no matter how hard they try.

So it DOES make sense that Genes also help control age. OK. Here is my question to my more Religious Friends. If you accept the Word Of God, the Bible, and you read in it things like this,

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21

A place where there is no sickness, no disease, no sorrow, hunger, nor thirst. Just indescribable peace, joy, and love. But there is a caveat. You have to die first. You have to leave this world.

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8

So when you look around here. What do you really see worth spending an eternity on? Would you REALLY want to live forever? Here? Just a thought.

So basically, if you have longevity in your family, there is a GREAT chance you will live long. If you are like me, you are patiently awaiting what comes next.
Peter

Sources:
AFP - Will you live to 100? Scientists say it's in your genes
TIME - Study: Extreme Longevity May Be More Genes Than Lifestyle
AP - Closing in on genes that help people live to 100

King James version Bible