How Long Will the Hidden Imam Live?

part 6

Longevity

Following a series of lengthy experiments Professor Sealy and his colleagues have reached the following conclusion: The fluctuation in the level of calcium is the reason for old age and changes that attend old age. Is there any compound that can prevent the occurrence of anomalous manifestations of old age? Dr. Sealy, with his repeated experiments with a chemical known as iron- dextran, discovered that calcium deposits in the tissue were the preventive agent.

In one of his lectures Professor Ottinger reminded the younger generation that one day they might realize the reality that the question of the eternity of the human species must be admitted just as people today have accepted the fact of space travel. With the advanced technology and research pioneered today, it is probably correct to maintain that in the next century a human being will be able to live up to a thousand years.'

A Summary of a Russian Study on the Subject of Old Age

Longevity has been an aspiration as old as human existence on earth. According to the famous Russian scientist Michnikoff, until now human beings have not found any reliable method of prolonging life. Evidently, death is the natural end of life, and there is no being that can escape that fate.

(1) The Cause of Old Age:

The human body is made up of some sixty trillion cells. These cells gradually become old and when this occurs they are barely able to provide for the basic necessities of the body. Their proliferation is interrupted, and, hence, they die. The nerve and muscle cells that have died gradually increase and turn into a sturdy tissue. This change to hard muscle and nerve tissue as a result of the dead cells is known as sclerosis. Thus we have heart sclerosis, blood vessel sclerosis, nerve sclerosis, and so on.

Ellia Michnikoff, the famous Russian physician and physiologist, used to think that this phenomenon occurs because of the poisonous toxins created by the microbes that had placed themselves into the bowels of an animal and gradually caused the death of the tissues by poisoning them. Pavloff was of the opinion that a series of nerve cells that applied pressure on the brain from outside played a dominant role in aging. Psychologically stressful conditions like depression, despair, fear and so on render the nerve cells worn out and weak. This nervous wearing out is the cause of many infirmities which ushers in old age and subsequently death. The dream of an everlasting life is nothing more than an imagination. However, an increase of the human life span and a triumph over old age, is regarded as a possibility.

(2) The Science for the Study of Aging and Death:

Some three centuries ago a new branch of biology known as 'gerontology' was born. The goal of gerontology is to investigate and discover practical laws that govern aging in order to conquer them. This branch of scientific inquiry is closely related to another offshoot of the same discipline, namely, thanatology, that is, the study of death. Discovering and studying the laws related to death, and to an extent delaying it, is the scope of this new branch of biology. According to these scientists death is always caused by the disruption of the flow of life, whereas the end of life is known as physiological death.

At present time scientists are engaged in finding ways of prolonging life to its logical and natural limit. This limit, as postulated by these scientists, varies. Pavloff fixed the limit of natural human life to a hundred years. Michnikoff pushed it up to between one hundred fifty and one hundred sixty. Goffland, the famous German physician, and scientist regarded the natural life span to be two hundred years. On the other hand, the nineteenth century physiologist, Dr. Floger, maintained that it was six hundred years. Finally, Roger Bacon speculated it to be a thousand years. None of these scientists produced hard evidence to support their theory about the natural life span for human beings.

(3) The Theory Proposed by the Frenchman, Dr. Boufon:

The famous natural scientist, Dr. Boufon, believed that the life span of any creature was five times the period of its maturation to adulthood. The period of maturation for an ostrich is eight years, and, hence, its average life span is forty years. The maturation period for a horse is two years, and, as such, its average life span is fifteen to twenty years. Consequently, as Boufon maintained, the average life span for human beings is one hundred years, because human maturation continues for twenty years. However, there are many exceptions to Boufon's general formula. It is for this reason that it has been almost ignored.

For example, a sheep matures at five, but lives for ten to fifteen years. A parrot completes its maturation at two, but lives up to a hundred years. In the case of an ostrich, although its maturation is complete at the age of three, it lives for thirty to forty years. In other words, scientists have not been able to determine the limit of the human life span with any certainty. But most of them believe that by eliminating the deficiencies and anomalous conditions that actually lead to the shortening of life, it is possible to prolong the human life span to two hundred years. And, although this scientific belief remains at the theoretical stage, it cannot be dismissed as nonexistent and fanciful.

(4) Average Human Life Span:

In ancient Greece the average human age was 29 years; whereas in ancient Rome it was a little longer than that. In sixteenth century Europe the average age was 21 years, in the eighteenth century it was 26, and in the nineteenth century it was 34. In the beginning of the twentieth century this average suddenly jumped to 45-50 years. Of course, these figures are from Europe. The reason for the upsurge in the average age today is the decrease in the number of infants dying. There is, however, a noticeable discrepancy between the developed and developing countries in this regard. For example, the average age in Russia is 71 years; whereas in India it is less than 30.

The average life span of other animals compared to human beings does not show any remarkable difference. For comparison with the average human life span, that is 60 to 80 years, it is interesting to note that a duck has an average life span of 30 years, an ostrich 35-40 years, a crow 70 years, a horse 20-30 years, a dog 16-22 years, a frog 16 years, a parrot 90 years, a cat 10-12 years, an eagle 162 years, and so on. It is remarkable that although the human being is regarded as the most perfected species in the animal kingdom, he seems to possess a shorter life span than many other lower creatures.

(5) Michnikoff's View:

A careful evaluation of Michnikoff's theory explains the reason for such a radical variance between the average human age and that of the lower animals. He has conjectured that the reason for aging and untimely death is the infection of the body's cells and tissues which is caused by the secretion of toxic matter by the intestinal bacteria. It is important to bear in mind that the mere position and length of the intestines makes them an attractive habitat for these microorganisms.

An average of 130 trillion microbes are assumed to be born everyday and the majority of them in the intestines are harmless. But some are deadly, producing poisons that cause the body to become ill. In all probability, the resourceful cells and tissues of the body are infected by these microbes which leads to premature aging. By comparison, as indicated above, reptiles live longer than mammals. Reptiles do not have large intestines. Among the birds, only the ostrich has a large intestine and, hence, its average age is lower. Among the animals, cattle seem to live the shortest period. Apparently, the reason again may be their well developed large intestine.

A bat also has a small sized large intestine and its life span is longer than that of other insect eating animals who are of similar size in growth. It seems that there is a connection between the development of a large intestine and longevity in human life. However, its importance is not as great as Michnikoff appears to indicate. Some individuals have lived long even after their large intestine was removed. To be sure, the existence of this organ is not necessary for the body. There are also individuals who have lived long with a large intestine. A goal of the scientists who study aging is to identify these individuals and keep them under scientific observation.

(6) The Future Human will live longer:

People who have lived for more than 150 years are few and far apart. Some of those whose names have been mentioned in the books, include:

A Hungarian farmer lived to be 185 years old in 1724. He was reported to have worked until his last moment as if a young person. Another person by the name of John Rawl was 170 years old when he died. His wife was 164 of age years at that time and they had lived together for 130 years. An Albanian by the name of Khude also lived for 170 years. At the time of his death he was survived by 200 children, grandchildren, and great-grand-children. Some time ago a newspaper article reported that a man in South America had died at the age of 207 years. In Russia there are some 30,000 people whose life span has extended beyond a century. Presently, Russian scientists are engaged in investigating the factors that lead to aging and in discovering ways of prolonging life. There is no doubt that human knowledge will overcome aging in the future and that the future generations will be able to live longer lives.

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