passed away after 122 years and 164 days on this Earth,

去世了，她總共活了122年又164天

making her the oldest known person in history.

這讓她成為史上最長壽的人類

Her age was so astounding

她的年紀實在太驚人了

that a millionaire pledged $1 million to anyone who could break her record.

以致於有富翁提出100萬元的獎賞給任何能打破記錄的人

But in reality, living to this age or beyond

但事實上，要能夠活到甚至超越那個年紀

is a feat that very few, maybe even no humans,

是個幾乎無人能夠

are likely to accomplish.

達到的目標

Human bodies just aren't built for extreme aging.

人類的身體並不是被生來活那麼久的

Our capacity is set at about 90 years.

我們最大的限度被設定在90歲左右

But what does aging really mean

然而老化究竟代表什麼

and how does it counteract the body's efforts to stay alive?

而它又如何阻止我們的身體活下去？

We know intuitively what it means to age.

我們都很直覺的知道老化是什麼意思

For some, it means growing up,

有些人認為是成長

while for others, it's growing old.

其他人則認為是衰老

Yet finding a strict scientific definition of aging is a challenge.

要找出嚴謹的科學定義來解釋老化是一大挑戰

What we can say is that aging occurs when intrinsic processes

老化可以說是體內對於

and interactions with the environment, like sunlight,

環境，像是陽光、

and toxins in the air, water, and our diets,

空氣中的毒素、水、飲食等的處理與反應

cause changes in the structure

造成我們身體的分子與細胞

and function of the body's molecules and cells.

的結構和功能發生變化

Those changes in turn drive their decline,

那些變化導致它們衰弱

and subsequently, the failure of the whole organism.

最終造成整個器官的衰竭

The exact mechanisms of aging are poorly understood.

老化確切的運作方式仍是非常模糊的

But recently, scientists have identified nine physiological traits,

但最近，科學家發現了九種生理上的特徵

ranging from genetic changes

從基因變化

to alterations in a cell's regenerative ability

到細胞中再生功能的變動

that play a central role.

這些特徵在老化的過程中佔了很大的因素

Firstly, as the years pass, our bodies accumulate genetic damage

首先，當一年又一年過去了，我們的身體會累積基因的損傷

in the form of DNA lesions.

也就是 DNA 損害

These occur naturally when the body's DNA replicates,

這是在 DNA 複製的過程中自然發生的

but also in non-dividing cells.

但也出現在不分裂細胞中

Organelles called mitochondria are especially prone to this damage.

名為粒線體的細胞器特別容易造成這種損害

Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate,

粒線體製造三磷酸腺苷

or ATP,

簡稱 ATP

the main energy source for all cellular processes,

是所有細胞程序中的主要能量來源

plus mitochondria regulate many different cell activities

加上粒線體調節很多不同的細胞活動

and play an important role in programmed cell death.

並且在細胞死亡的程序中扮演很重要的角色

If mitochondrial function declines,

如果粒線體的功能衰弱

then cells and, later on, whole organs, deteriorate, too.

首先是細胞，再來是整個器官，都會跟著衰弱

Other changes are known to occur in the expression patterns of genes,

其他變化可以從基因呈現的形態來得知

also known as epigenetic alterations,

也稱作表關基因變動

that affect the body's tissues and cells.

它們影響了身體的組織和細胞

Genes silenced or expressed only at low levels in newborns

基因在新生兒中多是在休眠或是只有極少的活動

become prominent in older people,

隨著年齡增長才會越來越顯著

leading to the development of degenerative diseases,

導致退化性的疾病形成

like Alzheimer's, which accelerate aging.

像是會加速老化的阿茲海默症

Even if we could avoid all these harmful genetic alterations,

就算我們能避免所有的基因變動

not even our own cells could save us.

就連自身的細胞也無法拯救我們

The fact remains that cellular regeneration,

事實是，細胞再生

the very stuff of life,

也就是維持生命的根本

declines as we age.

會隨著老化而減少

The DNA in our cells is packaged within chromosomes,

我們細胞內的 DNA 被包裹在染色體中

each of which has two protective regions at the extremities called telomeres.

每個染色體在兩端都有保護區塊，被稱作端粒

Those shorten every time cells replicate.

細胞每複製一次它們就會跟著變短

When telomeres become too short,

當端粒變得太短時

cells stop replicating and die,

細胞就會停止複製而死亡

slowing the body's ability to renew itself.

拖慢了身體再生的速度

With age, cells increasingly grow senescent, too,

當我們老化，細胞也會跟著衰老

a process that halts the cell cycle in times of risk,

這個過程能停止細胞循環帶來的風險

like when cancer cells are proliferating.

像是癌細胞大量繁殖的時候

But the response also kicks in more as we age,

但這樣的反應隨著老化會更加劇烈

halting cell growth and cutting short their ability to replicate.

停止細胞成長並且降低它們複製的能力

Aging also involves stem cells that reside in many tissues

在許多組織內的幹細胞也是老化過程中的一環

and have the property of dividing without limits to replenish other cells.

它們有著不限次數分裂來補給其他細胞的特性

As we get older, stem cells decrease in number

當我們老化，幹細胞的數量會減少

and tend to lose their regenerative potential,

且逐漸喪失再生的能力

affecting tissue renewal and maintenance of our organs original functions.

影響到組織的再生和器官功能的維護

Other changes revolve around cells' ability to function properly.

其他變化則圍繞著細胞正常運作的能力

As they age, they stop being able to do quality control on proteins,

隨著老化，它們會開始無法有效控制蛋白質

causing the accumulation of damaged and potentially toxic nutrients,

造成受損的和潛在的有毒營養素的累積

leading to excessive metabolic activity that could be fatal for them.

導致過多的新陳代謝而致細胞於死地

Intercellular communication also slows,

細胞間的溝通也會變慢

ultimately undermining the body's functional ability.

最終損害身體運作的能力

There's a lot we don't yet understand about aging.

關於老化我們還有很多不了解的地方

Ultimately, does longer life as we know it come down to diet,

最後，長壽跟飲食

exercise,

運動

medicine,

藥物

or something else?

還是其他東西有關？

Will future technologies, like cell-repairing nanobots,

未來的科技，像是修復細胞的奈米機器人

or gene therapy,

或是基因療法

artificially extend our years?

等人工手段能夠延長我們的壽命嗎？

And do we want to live longer than we already do?

而我們會想活的比現在還要久嗎？

Starting with 122 years as inspiration,

以122年作為激勵

there's no telling where our curiosity might take us.

沒有人知道我們的好奇心會如何引導我們