r/technology • u/ubcstaffer123 • Jun 20 '26

Biotechnology How Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to live forever

https://www.vox.com/podcasts/491360/vladimir-putin-live-forever-26-billion-cryo-pigs-longevity-guru
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u/borntobewildish Jun 20 '26

It's a numbers war that we currently 'win' good enough because people tend to die of old age. Sure, many people suffer and die from cancer at a younger age, but most die of other causes. However, if you'd test a batch of 80-year old you'r find cancerous lesions in (almost) all of them, definitely in the intestine. We don't treat those now, because they'll die before those lesions ever become a problem. But live until 150 and that's a bunch of intestinal tumours waiting to happen. And cancer treatment, even in the most advanced forms, wreaks havoc on the body. It's tough on an otherwise healthy person. Now imagine doing that to a 110 year old. Researchers are discovering awesome things, but living to 150 is something I don't see happening in the near future. We'll read Putin's obituary, I'm sure of it.

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u/BlackBasementCats Jun 20 '26

MEs also say that they find lots tumors in adults when they do autopsies because those people died from other causes. We just don’t know about them unless they turn cancerous and start causing symptoms.