>>A Blog About the Science and Technology of Living Forever

A recent study at the University of Western in Ontario, Canada is suggested a second look at coma patients in a vegetative state may be required before “pulling the plug”. Following an experiment with MRI technology, Professor Adrian Owen and Postdoctoral Fellow Lorina Naci have determined that a man in a coma – the result of a serious car accident – is aware of his surroundings and his identity. This breakthrough finding challenges many of the assumptions about “vegetative” patients, and gives hope to their families. Dr. Owen, a Canada Research Chair, is behind the groundbreaking studies that examine patients under the medical sentence “vegetative state”. He suggests that these patients are simply incapable of “generating” — which simply means they don’t have the ability to communicate.  However, he says these patients still have the intention to communicate, making them a conscious human being with functioning capacities. MRI images prove Dr. Owens hypothesis to be true.  Using a comparison chart of a healthy human brain and that of a vegetative patient he provides a visual aid that shows the specific areas of the brain that signal a “yes” or “no” answer to a set of questions.  The questions used have specific answers routed in the patient’s reality to test if the brain is of sound mind. Dr.Owen is not the only doctor leading the research in neuroscience. Jill Bolte Taylor originally entered the field of brain science as a result of her schizophrenic brother.  She became a highly acclaimed scientist at Harvard University. On Dec. 10, 1996 a blood vessel exploded in the left half of her brain. From that day forward Jill could no longer walk, talk becoming an infant in a woman’s body. In her book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s...

They say bacon is not good for the heart. In Heidelberg, Germany, that is changing. Our porky little friends are being used to produce scaffolds for refreshed hearts infused with human stem cells. This results in transplantable hearts for those that can’t wait for donor human hearts. The first step in the process of creating a pig heart for transplant into a human from to strip the pig’s heart of pig heart cells. Then the resulting scaffold is refreshed with stem cells from a human. The result: a pig heart transformed with human cells. What does this mean for humans? Well, in terms of heart transplants we will have the ability to treat everyone who needs one.  Right now there is a shortage of human heart donors.  There are thousands of people waiting to receive a transplanted healthy heart from an unfortunate accident victim. The new pig-powered procedure is experimental. And it may be decades before it can be performed to help humans. Controversy around stem cells is not helping matters. Still, these advancements may one day lead to the replacement of organs such as, lungs, livers and kidneys. Learn more in this video: A New Heart Grown from Stem Cells   Related Articles: Grow a replacement human heart using pigs and stem cells Scientists discover salamander secrets to regrowing limbs and organs Lab-grown kidneys may soon be a reality for humans Scientists cause organs to spontaneously grow in tadpoles David Brin: Mortality will be a major theme for the next 100 years. Want to learn how to live beyond 100 years? Read the future tech book Super You   Super You is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and quality bookstores...

If you are a man and you want to live longer the answer, it seems, is simple.  A recent study by German experts revealed that men who marry younger women enhance their chances of longevity. So, if you are a man go ahead and shack up with a woman 15-17 years less your senior.  It my mean a longer lifespan and healthier future for you! The analysis was conducted by a research group at Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. The researchers looked at the deaths of the entire population of Denmark between 1990 and 2005. Danish men who marry women much younger than them live longer. WHY? One hypothesis that explains the increased rate of longevity is natural selection. It is possible that younger women choose healthier, better maintained older men as their marriage mates. Therefore, it is these types of men who are naturally taking care of their health and as such have a better chance of living longer. A second idea presents the notion that many men with considerably younger wives are rich. Because of their financial means, these men enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle than average men, i.e. they have no worries about money, better access to regular medical checks, health cures, leisure, etc. All these factors contribute to a long life span. Another theory, suggested by Sven Drefahl of the Max Planck Institute, points to the fact that a younger woman will care for a man better and therefore he will live longer. A younger spouse may also have a beneficial psychological effect on the older partner and provide them with better care in old age. What about women? The funny thing is the same results bode useless to our female friends.  Women who marry men...

If you are planning on living forever you may want to consider relocating to a new locale.  Where?  Well, Dan Buetter, author of “Blue Zones: 9 lessons for living longer from the people who’ve lived the longest”, has done the work for us.  He has travelled the world tracking the 5 best places to live to increase your  life expectancy. The following places were outlined as the top five places to keep you alive and kicking: #5 Okinawa, Japan For women specifically, Okinawa Japan is one of the most fruitful places to live. In 2013, Misa Okawa was named The Guinness World Record Book holder for being the oldest woman alive at the age of 115.  Misa is among one of the 50,000 centurians from Japan, making Japan one of the best places to be if you want live forever.  And, Okinawa just so happens to be a leader when it comes to longevity. WHY? A diet rich in vegetables and fish leads researchers to believe that the cause of longevity in Okinawa, and Japan at large, is attributed to their healthy diet.  The Japanese culture on average consumer 25% less calories than their North America friends.  Naomi Moriyama, co-author of “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen”, says that the Japanese diet, “concentrates the magnificent energy of food into a compact and pleasurable size.” The Okinawans are also known to lead a low stress lifestyle.  They are not run by clocks and alarm systems and have no concept of rush hour. Most Okinawans take time to meditate daily. And, lastly genetics plays a role.  The Japanese people are less genetically predisposed to a variety of harmful diseases. And when they do get sick they use natural medicinal...