What Science Tells Us About Living Longer

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

Science, Society & Culture

4.5 • 10.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 December 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Scientists are hard at work trying to understand what causes aging and how to help people stay healthy for longer. Biologist Matt Kaeberlein breaks down the science of longevity and tells us how he’s using a robot to test 100,000 aging interventions a year on microscopic worms and a long-term study on the aging of pet dogs. Then we’ll leave the lab to visit Willie Mae Avery, the oldest person in Washington, D.C., to hear what it’s like to live such a long life. For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard. Want More? Matt Kaeberlein is just one of many researchers working hard to find ways to help people live healthier, longer. To learn more about the cutting-edge science about the biology and psychology of aging, take a look at our magazine feature. Also Explore We’ve also included a link to the story of how the 4,000-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh was rediscovered and deciphered. Like Gilgamesh, Chris Hemsworth is on a mission to live better for longer. With the help of top scientists, he takes on six epic challenges to test mind and body to the max. Limitless With Chris Hemsworth is now streaming on Disney+. If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:35.0	Humans have always been interested in finding ways to live longer.
0:39.0	In the oldest surviving story in recorded history, is Mesopotamia's 4,000-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh.
0:45.0	And this desire shows up even there.
0:48.0	After the death of a close friend, our hero Gilgamesh becomes afraid to die and starts a quest to find eternal life.
0:55.0	Along his journey, here's about a few things that might help him live forever, but he's foiled in each turn.
1:01.0	Someone tells Gilgamesh that he will live forever if he can stay awake for a week, but he's unable to do it.
1:06.0	He picks a plant that only grows at the bottom of a lake, but the plant is stolen before he can use it.
1:12.0	In the end, he's told that living forever is impossible for him.
1:17.0	But that hasn't stopped the quest for the perfect life-extending herb or routine.
1:22.0	Everything from red wine to fish oil has been reported to help you live just a little longer.
1:27.0	But does any of that stuff actually work? What do science have to say?
1:35.0	I'm Amy Briggs, executive editor of National Geographic History Magazine, and you're listening to Overheard,
1:41.0	a show where we eavesdrop on the wild conversations we have here at NGM, and follow them to the edges of our big, weird, beautiful world.
1:48.0	This week, I interview longevity researcher Matt Kiberline about the science of living longer,
1:54.0	and his own search for an elixir of life using an invention he calls the wormbot.
1:59.0	It's a machine that uses artificial intelligence to test new aging drugs on tens of thousands of microscopic worms.
2:06.0	All that and more right after the break.
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