I read both articles, I think they are different version by the same author....one is from Discover Online, could the other be from the hard copy of Discover?

A few things do seem to be missing from the online version that are present in the second version....one seems abreviated.

That said, I think it is an explanation in sophiticated layman's terms about what is cutting edge research on 'aging', which happens to all creatures on earth. No creature has survived the cycle of aging and moved on to earthly immortality. If we do, this will certainly change the paradigm of how we live. We don't think all that much about the day we cease to exist in the present form. We all have our different beliefs and theories on what follows...Ironically, we fight wars over this! How many people have lost their lives in all of time, over some ideological theory regarding how we should live so as to make it to some specific afterlife.

There are a lot of things correlated with longevity.

First is genetics. If you have family members who live a long life, your chances barring an accident or infectious process that elludes treatment, you are more likely to live long.

Next, comes the things we can do to help ourselves live long, active lives: don't smoke, don't drink alcohol too much, stay away from drugs, yes this includes many prescribed ones, that are far to cavalierly given out without consideration of the effects on the organism as a whole. If one knows much about pharmacology, one knows that many drugs, 'targeted' for certain problems such as urinary urgency....are really anticholinergics, that affect the entire body...same as gastrointestinal stimulants such as dopamine antagonists. These drugs will do as promised, but they do more. Consider the 'more' factor before taking any drug.

Drugs in some cases are taken as there is no better option to remain alive...well, I would take a drug if it were a matter of life or death....or a matter of having no quality of life versus a more productive life. This is a decision we all make.

When you have idiopathic conditions, such as I have, it really doesn't make sense to take something to cure or mitigate my condition until I know what is causing it. I can only take reasonable steps to prolong the length and quality of my life.

I have been an older age competitive athlete and would gnaw off my arm to do it again....I hope to do it again, however, I do have some idea, that to exercise to the level of competition, is likely going to cause damage to the nerves in my legs and my spine, not to mention potential bone trauma, that is likely detrimental to me.

We all love the 90 year old who gives that 5Ker some inspiration. I was referred to as a kid by a few of those 'old folks' when I was competing as a 50 year old.

Thing is, that kind of exercise produces inflammation. Muscle develops by tearing it apart, and rebuilding...bones remodel, etc. As we grow older it gets very tough to do this the 'right' way. I suspect genetics plays a huge role in the 93 year old's ability to run the 800. I have coached a lot of folks, besides being an RN, I was also a trainer....a good one...I have a few pros as proteges.

I have seen some people over come odds that they technically should not have overcome, myself included. That is motivation.

Motivation plays a role...our psychologial state plays a role in how long we live. A sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. A niche in the world, a reason to fight for life.....these are all factors in longevity.

There are factors which we can do nothing about such as genetics (well, at least right now we can't do much, but that is changing due to bright young minds who can as Melody said, 'pimp their skin') They will build on research that our generation has started, and hopefully come up with new premises, concepts we never imagined.

There are factors that we can do something about.

Diet-low calorie, high value foods, which are as pure and close to the source as possible. Very hard to do these days. I grew a ton of my own food this year, buy meat from as organic sources as possible, buy wheat from American growers, make my own yogurt etc....but hey....I love rum balls, peanut butter cups and gingerbread too. I am not sure I want to spend my life portioning out brown rice and confining myself to leafy greens that I scrubbed for hours on which I plop tofu and call it a day. Plus many days, I am too darn sick to cook. Kudo's to those who can follow this regimen.

A lot of our food has been stripped down and then vitamins added....go figure. Some folks need help here with supplements, but the evidence is not all in on that....really our bodies should function quite well with the diets our ancestors lived on....again...I am not going out to shoot my game and gather berries....nor am I going to take vitamins made in China with their polluted water and lack of oversight.

Exercise-as we age or as we get sick, our exercise had to change too. That 93 year old was not doing the Iron Man. I know plenty of folks getting up there in age, that feel that the Iron Man is reasonable. I can not even manage the sprint triathlon, which is a quarter mile swim, 15-20 mile bike and 5K (3.1 mile run). Not anymore, and I don't think my doc is going to recommend I train for one.....That is devstating to me. My whole psyche was geared towards the social aspects of sports....you are either in or out. Right now-I am out. So I need to realign my mindset to a reasonable exercise goal. When I accomplish that successfully, I will be better off. First, some additional testing for my muscles is being done....yes we know I have idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, but is there myopathy....is some myopathic condition associated with this neuropathy? Passive and active exercise, the aerobic and strength, and the stretching such as in yoga. When my testing results come in, I will realign my routine and my attitude.

Social Connections-We need social ties. Without family or friends in which we can confide, depend on and have fun with, our lives become dismal. Cyberfriends are good, but realtime bodies are needed. I am working very hard on this....I had some tough breaks in the last 5 years.

Spiritual-We all need some basic philosophy of life....the meaning of our existance. You can be an atheist or agnostic and still have a very balanced view on life....or you can be deeply religious and entrenched in a faith...if it works, do it. Meditation is great...meditation can be prayer...or just having your mind sit in your favorite vacation spot for 20 minutes. I am working on this too....And there is NO one right answer!!! It is a matter of finding our place in this universe of possibilities....without stepping all over some one else's right to believe what they believe.

Intellectual stimulation-curiosity is highly linked to remaining cognitively intact in older age. Learn a foreign language, do Sudoko, do genealogy, take a class, etc.

Good medical care-we need to search out reasonably good docs, ones who are not burned out. Ones who have some pride in their professional performance.

I am sure I missed some stuff....I would love to make the Senior Olympics...I was planning on it...but it may not happen, and it isn't for lack of trying.....that 93 year old guy has some phenomenal way of dealing with the inflammation that all athletic training causes. I would love to leaf thru the branches of his family tree.