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It’s not exactly breaking news that women live longer than men. According to the Centers for Disease Control,¹ the average life expectancy for men in the United States is 76.4, compared to 81.2 for women.

There’s plenty of other evidence, too.

Take, for instance, the ill-fated Donner Party in 1846. Of the 87 original members of the group, 47 of them survived; 70 percent were women. And in Iceland during the 19th century, records show that women lived longer than men every single year … regardless of feast or famine.

You can pretty much confirm the same thing by visiting any nursing home: […]

Stiff, aching joints, osteoporotic bones, Alzheimer’s disease, lesions that cause heart attacks and strokes: all these nasty “diseases of aging” have one thing in common — senescent cells.

Also called zombie cells, they stop normal cell division and lose their ability to function, but they don’t fully die off. Instead, they hang around wreaking havoc on surrounding tissues.

One of the most promising strategies in the field of health and longevity is to sweep these cells out of the body. The first human trial gives hope we can do exactly that. . .

Reduces Illness and Increases Lifespan

“I’ve never seen a field grow […]

In a just-published paper, biochemists at Oxford University, England, state that “immune activity and life expectancy seem to be intricately linked.”

But as we age, the immune system becomes less effective. The process even has its own name – immunosenescence.

The good news is that scientists believe they’ve found an answer to this decline — a development that could help us live a lot longer.

Thymic Involution

Weighing in at roughly an ounce, the thymus is a tiny gland located between the top of the lungs – but it packs a powerful immune punch.

It produces progenitor cells that mature into T-cells (meaning thymus-derived cells) […]

We’re all aware — or should be — that aerobic fitness lowers the risk of developing heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s. It also decreases the risk of death and can potentially prolong life.

But there’s more to being in shape than heart rate and respiration. What about musculoskeletal fitness?

When it comes to muscular strength and flexibility and how they relate to life expectancy, there aren’t many studies to go on, so researchers from Brazil designed and conducted one.

The results were surprising. . .

The Sit-Rise Test

Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo, MD, PhD, specializes in exercise and sports medicine, but also works with heart […]

Blood pressure is a well-known indicator of cardiovascular health.

But there’s another test that requires no trip to the doctor’s office, needs no other person or equipment, is easy and quick to carry out, and costs nothing.

This test not only reveals information about your risk of heart disease, but your future risk of death.

All you have to do is… take your pulse. Here’s why this simple, familiar “vital sign” is such a powerful predictor of lifespan. . .

A Fast Pulse Spells Trouble Ahead

The number of heart beats per minute is referred to as the heart rate.

Taking the pulse after prolonged rest, […]

A revolutionary gene editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to make precise changes to the DNA in any cell or organism.

You’ve probably heard of CRISPR if you follow technology news at all. It’s the breakthrough that made it easy and cheap to modify genes.

In an age when many people won’t even eat GMO foods, doing gene modifications on yourself is probably a non-starter. But stay with me a moment: The gene modifications involved here may save or extend the lives of some very sick people.

While some are fearful this new technology will be used for malicious purposes, others believe it […]