No drugs that can elongate one’s life: Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan at MSU

He said, “We have wondered about what makes life spans so different? Sharks and whales can live several hundred years. A giant tortoise lives 170 plus years, and then at the other end, you have a mayfly that lives for a day… So, I think the idea that we are all made of the same material but we age differently suggests that we could do something about it, and that requires understanding the basis of aging…”

He further said that healthy living could have big benefits for one’s well being. He said, “Think of the DNA as a long string of chemical letters… If you have an environmental attack on the DNA, it doesn’t even have to be from carcinogens, it could be just in the natural process of living. It will corrupt some of those letters in the DNA… In other words, some of those elements of DNA will be changed, others will be removed, and sometimes, the DNA will be broken.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Venki said that people are trying all kinds of potions and services to halt ageing but some of the most effective things are found in natural food. “There are all kinds of potions and tablets, services telling you that ‘if you take it, you will live healthier and longer’. Some of them are based on real science but many of them need good evidence… Many of the things are not drugs but are found in natural food and natural compounds and are not regulated… There are no drugs that can elongate your life.”

Venki said although humans are the only species to be aware about mortality, all animals have an instinct to live. “We have evolved to not want to die. We are the only species that knows about mortality… Evolution wants us to live and so we have evolved wanting to live. In fact, all animals, even if they do not know about mortality, have the instinct to live,” he said.

He added that although big breakthroughs in science can make human lifespans extend beyond 110 years, it will take a long time to get there.

“In the near future, I do not think so. There will be other advances, which are likely to improve health, which is much more realistic… Most people live up to their 80s and 90s but there are outliers who live up to 110. If you want to go beyond that it would need big breakthroughs. I sometimes compare them to space exploration. It is easier to colonise another planet in theory but practically it is hard. You need big breakthroughs. (with) Science, you can never predict,” he said.

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