00:00Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have been recorded on a hot mic discussing how organ transplants
00:13and other medical advances could let humans live past 150 years, or even become immortal.
00:21But are these comments by the Russian and Chinese leaders, which were picked up during a Beijing
00:27summit, backed by scientific evidence? Experts in human ageing reportedly said that some of these
00:34ideas remain far-fetched, but serious research is also increasingly revealing more about why we age
00:41and how we could try to stop it.
00:51The conversation suggested that fending off the ravages of age was on the minds of Putin
00:57and Xi, who are both 72 and have not expressed any desire to step down.
01:02Thanks to the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted,
01:09people could get younger as they grow older, and may even become immortal, Putin told Xi.
01:15The Chinese leader responded by saying there were predictions humans could live to 150 years old
01:21within this century.
01:22There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that a human could live forever.
01:29Scientists have not even reached a consensus on whether there is a biological limit on human lifespan.
01:36Ilaria Bellantuono, a researcher on the biology of ageing at the University of Sheffield,
01:42told AFP,
01:43Indeed, despite massive progress in most areas of health, in the last few decades,
01:51human longevity records have stopped being broken.
01:54France's Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997,
02:01still holds the record for oldest confirmed age.
02:04According to 2018 research in the journal Science, mortality rates eventually level off,
02:16meaning a 115-year-old is no more at risk of dying than someone aged 105.
02:23Other researchers have warned that data about extreme longevity could be misleading,
02:28citing numerous cases of people forging birth certificates to commit pension fraud.
02:42Putin's comments went beyond simply fending off death,
02:46suggesting that by regularly replacing misfiring organs, people could actually become younger.
02:52It's pure madness, said Eric Boulanger, a professor of biology and ageing at France's Lille University.
03:00Boulanger listed a broad range of medical barriers and ethical concerns,
03:05including the constant need for fresh organs
03:08and the traumatic effect that repeated transplant surgeries would have on the body.
03:13And our bodies are made up of more than just organs, he emphasized.
03:17They also have fatty tissue, bones and more,
03:22all impacted by ageing in a complex and interconnected way
03:26that makes the concept of changing out organs like car parts unrealistic.
03:40Huge amounts of money have recently been invested in longevity efforts,
03:44which have also been the subject of a booming lifestyle and wellness industry.
03:49Putin himself has shown interest,
03:51with Russia launching a $460 million project last year
03:56focused on regenerative medicine and longevity.
04:00The subject is also a preoccupation of the Silicon Valley-led transhumanist movement,
04:07including billionaire Peter Thiel,
04:09a supporter of US President Donald Trump,
04:11who has invested millions in longevity projects.
04:15Fellow tech figure Brian Johnson
04:17has become somewhat emblematic of the issue
04:20by setting himself the goal of eternal life
04:23and testing many of the latest anti-aging theories,
04:27techniques and trends on himself.
04:29However, mainstream scientists have been critical of such efforts,
04:33warning they lack scientific rigor
04:35and could even be dangerous.
04:37Some recent scientific advances have raised hopes
04:48we could one day fight back against ageing.
04:51The researchers interviewed by AFP in particular
04:54highlighted a field called epigenetics.
04:57Changes to DNA have long been thought
04:59to be an important factor in why humans age.
05:03However, epigenetics, which studies how genes can toggle on or off
05:08without altering DNA, has recently gained attention.
05:12Over time, this toggling seems to wear down
05:15in a process thought to be central to ageing.
05:18Research published in the journal Aging Cell in June
05:21found that the drug rapamycin,
05:24which appears to affect epigenetic ageing,
05:27has helped extend the lifespan of several animals, including mice.
05:31But there is no guarantee the drug will work in humans.
05:35For now, the researchers suggested people worry less
05:38about hypothetical ways to increase how long they are alive
05:42and instead make sure the time they have left is lived well.
05:46Bellanturno said the focus should be on extending
05:48the number of years in good health.
