“Something is keeping us alive, and we do not know what it is. Now, a real Methuselah of the mammals is beginning to hint at what it takes to make a century. The African naked mole rat, whose name describes its charming appearance, has a pair of fearsome front teeth. It lives in burrows in which one aggressive female prevents all the others from mating and forces them to look after her own offspring. The animal is about the same size as a mouse, but it lives eight times as long, with plenty getting to 30 or so.
Once past our own teenage years, we age faster and faster. The average chance of death in a particular period doubles every eight years. The figures are more favorable in the prime of life and are at their best at the age of 10. If that schoolboy rate of mortality were to persist throughout life, most children born in 2000 would survive until the year 3300, which gives an uncomfortable insight into the power of bodily decay.”
Excerpt from a article written by Steve Jones, Telegraph. Continue HERE
WANDERLUST 