By L. Anne Newell
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 23, 1997

Dying slowly

Karen C. Tully Arizona Daily Wildcat UA department of medicine professor John Boyer discusses the role of aging in our lives, yesterday. Boyer's speach, "Why We Grow Old," took place in Gallagher Theatre as part of the Building Academic Community speaker series.

"We don't die on a single day, we die piecemeal day by day," a UA medical school professor said yesterday in a noontime speech about successful aging.

John Boyer, of the University of Arizona's department of medicine, explored the roles of mental and physical age and the prospect of immortality during his speech, "Why We Grow Old."

"Do we die because we're sick, have diseases or would we die anyway?" Boyer asked the crowd of about 200 people in Gallagher Theatre.

The human capacity for life, as long as 120 years, has never changed, he said. Medicine has only helped humans live closer to this potential.

But the medical school professor questioned when, or if, science will eliminate this potential and find a means for immortality.

"Must we grow old?" Boyer asked. "Are there alternatives other than death?"

For example, he said, certain cancer cells in the body do not die.

Science should find a way to emulate the "magic" of these cells to find the secret of immortality, he added.

Although the oldest human in history lived for 122 years, nature did not need to design humans to live 120 years - much less achieve immortality, he said.

"All we need to do is live our lives, have our kids and drop dead," Boyer said.

But we don't - which begs the questions of why and how people age, he said.

Aging causes increased chest and abdomen depth, longer ears, broader noses and a voice change, he told the crowd, adding there were several theories on how people age, including:

• The biological clock
• An inability to repair DNA as the body ages
• The breakdown of cells
• Blood sugar levels that rise with age

Boyer concluded his speech by touting some good aspects of aging, which is inevitable.

Physiology senior Kelly Chavez said she enjoyed the speech. "I'm happy to see the positive aspects of aging," she said.

Other students agreed with Boyer's view of aging. "Aging shouldn't be something you fear, but something you look forward to," said gerontology graduate student Lisa High.

During the speech, Boyer showed several slides comparing human life expectancy to other animal's life expectancy, such as elephants and rats.

Gerontology graduate student Gina Philibert said the slides helped convey Boyer's ideas.

High agreed, saying more people should hear the lecture.

"We're all going to get old," she said.