ABSTRACT
The twenty-first century opens the possibility of a dramatic extension of human lifespan. The idea of living longer, of finding the "fountain of youth", has attracted adventurers for centuries. To facilitate the second longevity revolution, some scientists want to retard or stop our physical deterioration. They seek to intervene in the general process of aging, thereby increasing not only the average human life (one's life expectancy) but also the maximum number of years humans can live (one's lifespan). Importantly, researchers also seek to significantly increase the quality of life during the additional decades of existence, permitting individuals to remain active for virtually their entire lives, with death coming quickly, for instance, from a heart that cannot keep pumping, so that a compression of morbidity will accompany life extension. This chapter considers the ongoing scientific studies that are attempting to understand the mechanisms and pathways of aging and discover the means by which we might to postpone aging.
