We're living longer than ever before, which is great,

我們比過去活得更久，這很棒。

but an unforeseen consequence of this is that we also spend a larger and larger portion of our lives being sick.

但一件不可預見的結果是，這也讓我們把生命中越來越多的部分花在生病這件事上。

Getting old currently means spending more time in pain.

目前來說，變老代表著在痛苦中花上更多的時間。

So scientists are trying to shift the attention of the medical community from optimizing lifespans to optimizing healthspans,

所以科學家嘗試把醫學社群的關注從最佳化壽命轉移到最佳化健康期間：

the part of our lives during which we're disease free.

我們的一生中免於疾病之苦的那部分

To do this, we need to attack the root cause of almost all bodily defects: aging itself.

要達到這個目標，我們必須針對幾乎是造成所有身體缺陷的根源：老化本身。

Unbeknown to most people, the science of aging has made enormous progress In the last few years,

大多數人都還不知道，老化的科學在最近幾年取得了巨大的進展，

with human trials about to begin in the near future.

人體試驗即將在近期開始，

Let's look at three examples of discoveries that might benefit people who are alive right now

我們來看看三個新發現的例子，也許可以帶給現在還活著的人好處。

INTRO

00:01:02,780 --> 00:01:04,780 1. 衰老細胞

1: senescent cells.

你的細胞有一個到期日

Your cells have an expiration date.

每一次你的細胞分裂，他會複製他自己的染色體。

Each time one of your cells divides, it copies its chromosomes.

由於這項工作的方式，他們會在末端損失一點點的DNA

Because of the way this works, they lose a tiny bit of DNA at the ends.

這可能是一場災難性的事故，所以為了要保護他們自己，我們有一個很長的DNA片段，叫做端粒(telomeres)

This could be catastrophic, so to protect themselves we have long segments of DNA called telomeres

有點像是在鞋帶末端的硬塊，但是他們會隨每次細胞分裂變短，

that sort of act like the stiff bits at the end of shoelaces, but they shrink with every cell division.

在某些細胞中，在一定數量的分裂後，端粒就消失了，而該細胞就變成了殭屍，一個衰老細胞。

In some cells, after a number of divisions the telomeres are gone, and the cell becomes a zombie, a senescent cell.

衰老會留下來，不會死，你年紀越大，他們就越多。

Senescent cells stay around and don't die. The older you get the more of them are inside you.

他們會傷害周圍的組織，還伴隨許多老年疾病像是糖尿病跟腎衰竭

They harmed tissue around them and are linked to many diseases that accompany old age like diabetes and kidney failure.

但如果你能殺光他們呢？

But what if you could kill them off?

科學家改造小老鼠的基因，使牠們能樂於摧毀他們的衰老細胞

Scientists genetically engineered mice so that they could destroy their senescent cells as they pleased.

沒有衰老細胞的老年小老鼠更為活躍，他們的心臟和腎臟功能更好，而且不太容易罹患癌症

Older mice without senescent cells were more active. Their hearts and kidneys worked better, and they were less prone to cancer.

總的來說，牠們的壽命比普通老鼠長30%，健康狀況更好。

Overall, they lived up to 30 percent longer and in better health than average mice.

由於我們不能夠對我們人類身體中所有的細胞做基因工程，我們必須找到其他的方式來擺脫我們的衰老細胞。

Since we can't genetically engineer all the cells in the human body, we need to find another way to get rid of our senescent cells.

但是我們如何殺掉牠們卻不會傷害健康的細胞？

But how do we kill them without harming healthy cells?

體內大多數細胞在他們受損的時候會進行計畫性的自殺，但衰老細胞則不會

Most cells in the body commit a programmed cell suicide when they're damaged, but senescent cells don't.

這是由於他們未能足夠生產一種能告訴他們何時該死亡的蛋白質

It turns out that they underproduce a protein that tells them when it's time to die.

所以在2016年底的研究中，老鼠們被注射了這種蛋白質

So in a late 2016 study, mice were given an injection of this protein.

那殺掉了牠們所有衰老細胞中的80%，而且幾乎沒有傷害到牠們的健康細胞

It killed 80 % of all their senescent cells, while causing almost no harm to healthy cells.

被治療的老鼠變得更加健康，甚至重新長出皮毛。

The treated mice became generally healthier and even regrew lost hair.

因此，有許多新公司正關注在治療有關衰老細胞的治療，而第一場人體實驗即將開始。

As a result, there are a number of new companies looking at treatments involving senescent cells and the first human trials will start soon.

2: NAD+

2: NAD+

細胞是由好幾億個零件所組成

Cells are made of hundreds of millions of parts.

他們是讓反應產生的結構，機器，消息和催化劑

They're the structures, machines, messages, and the catalysts that make reactions happen.

所有這些零件需要不斷被破壞，清理和重建。

All these parts constantly need to be destroyed, cleaned up, and rebuilt.

當我們變老，這個程序的效果變差，所以零件變皺，摺起

As we age, this process becomes less effective and so parts become crumpled, bunched up,

或者被更慢移除，或者不再產生我們需要的數量了

or are removed slower, or they are no longer produced in the quantities we need.

其中一項零件是NAD+，一種輔酶，能告訴我們自己要照顧他們自己。

One of these parts is NAD+, a coenzyme that tells ourselves to look after themselves.

到了50歲的時候，我們身體中只有約我們20歲時的一半

At age 50, we only have about half as much in our bodies as we do at age 20.

如果它太低的話會造成一大堆的疾病，從皮膚癌到阿茲海默症，心血管疾病以及多發性硬化症。

Low amounts of it are linked to a whole bunch of diseases from skin cancer to Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, and multiple sclerosis.

但是NAD+不能進入細胞，所以我們不能把它當成是藥物。

But NAD+ can't enter cells so we can't get it as a pill.

但是科學家注意到有其他更有彈性的物質可以進入細胞並且轉存入NAD+中

But scientists notice that other more flexible substances could enter cells and would then turn into an NAD+ inside.

在2016年，對小老鼠的多次測試表明它們會促進皮膚，大腦與肌肉幹細胞的增值。

In 2016, multiple trials on mice showed that they boosted the multiplication of skin, brain, and muscle stem cells.

牠們重新煥發出活力，而且修復DNA的能力更高，並且稍微增加了壽命。

They were rejuvenated, had a higher ability to repair their DNA, and had a slightly increased lifespan,

這甚至讓太空總署都感到興趣。

This even got NASA interested,

找到一個方法來最小化太空人在火星任務中暴露在宇宙射線下的DNA損傷

which is looking for a way to minimize the DNA damage astronauts would be exposed to from cosmic radiation on Mars missions.

有人體實驗現在已經在計畫當中了

There are human trials being planned right now,

但是要說這能提高我們的健康期間或壽命還太早了

but it's too soon to say if this will boost our healthspan or even lifespan.

但NAD+是一個很需要被認真對待的候選，並且可能成為第一個人類抗衰老藥

But NAD+ is a serious candidate and could become the first human anti-aging pill.

3: 幹細胞

3: stem cells

幹細胞就像細胞的藍圖，位於身體的不同部位，複製它們自己來持續產生穩定的新生細胞

Stem cells are like cell blueprints that sit at various places in the body and copy themselves to produce a steady flow of fresh young cells,

但是他們也會隨我們變老而下降，所以我們也會衰退

but they decline as we age and so we decline too.

沒有新的零件，人類的身體就壞了

Without new parts, human bodies break.

在老鼠的試驗中，科學家們觀察到當牠們腦中的幹細胞消失時，他們就開始發展疾病。

In mice, scientists observed that as the stem cells in their brains disappeared, they started to develop diseases

所以他們從幼鼠中取得幹細胞然後直接注入到中年老鼠的大腦中

So they took stem cells from baby mice brains and injected them directly into the brains of middle-aged mice,

特別是下丘腦，那是一個參與調節許多生理功能的一塊息肉

more specifically the hypothalamus, a polyp that's involved in regulating a lot of bodily functions.

新鮮的幹細胞透過分泌微RNAs來調節牠們的新陳代謝來活化舊的腦細胞

The fresh stem cells reinvigorated older brain cells by secreting micro RNAs that regulated their metabolism.

4個月後，牠們的大腦和肌肉要比那些沒有受過治療的要好，而且平均來說，牠們的壽命延長了10%

After 4 months, brain and muscles worked better than those of untreated mice and on average, they lived ten percent longer.

另一項研究從老鼠胚胎中取得幹細胞，並且將其直接注射到老年老鼠的心臟，

Another study took stem cells from mice embryos and injected them directly into the hearts of older mice.

結果，他們改善了心臟功能，能夠多活動20%，而奇怪的是他們的毛髮再生得更快

As a consequence, they had improved heart function, could exercise 20% longer, and weirdly enough their hair regrew faster.

結論

Conclusion

以上這些告訴我們的是，沒有一顆靈丹妙藥可以治癒衰老

What all of this tells us is that there is not a single magic bullet with which to cure aging.

它需要一系列複雜的治療方法。

It requires a complex array of different therapies.

我們能殺光衰老細胞來清除垃圾，

We can kill off senescent cells to clear away the junk,

給我們自己新的幹細胞來填補缺口，同時使用藥物來調整其他細胞的新陳代謝。

give ourselves fresh new stem cells to fill the gap, all while regulating the metabolism of the other cells using medication.

這份影片提出一個重大的警告，畢竟這些研究都是在老鼠身上進行的。

This video comes with a big caveat. After all, these studies have been carried out on mice.

並不保證同樣的療法在我們身上是否有作用，有著同樣的影響程度，它們都只是概念性的證明。

There's no guarantee the same therapies would work in us to the same extent, but they are proof of concepts.

要學習更多我們如何能調整我們的健康期間，我們需要人體試驗。

To learn more about how we can modify our own healthspan, we need human trials.

我們只覆蓋了我們目前正在做的研究的一小部分，且只沾到了這些概念的皮毛

We've only covered a tiny part of the research that's being done right now, and only scratched the surface of these ideas.

健康期間延長的領域需要更多被關注與投資

The field of healthspan extension needs more attention and funding.

一但能得到，我們都將可以享受到沒有痛苦的成長過程

If it gets it, all of us might enjoy growing old without pain

如果你想要直接支持老化的研究，你可以在lifespan.io中進行

If you now want to support the research on aging directly, you can do so at lifespan.io,

那個一個人們積極支持科學家努力治療老化的社群

a community of people actively supporting the scientists working to cure aging.

請看看他們的網站關於最新的建議，並且拜訪我們的部落格以及Facebook粉絲團

Check them out to learn about the latest advances and visit their blog or group on Facebook.

Lifespan的團隊也很大方地支持了這部影片的創作，提供了贊助以及他們的專業知識。

The lifespan team also kindly supported the creation of this video with a donation and their expertise.

如果你想要幫助我們做更多影片，你也可以到 patreon.com

If you want to help us make more of our videos, you can do so on patreon.com.