(or 2!) Dying of old age, can you actually DIE because of the body being worn out, or is it always a disease or such? I read that if we cure every disease, we would live hundreds of years.

Question

Title! I don’t get it. Isn’t my finger getting worn from just being used for too long? Or will it eventually get worse because of something else?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Scientists who have studied this tend tend to think bodies will “wear out” in the range from 120 to 150 years old. “Wear out” in this context means when natural processes such as respiration or blood circulation become so inefficient that the body can no longer maintain itself, even if there is no disease or other external stress on the body. There isn’t full agreement, but many believe it to be in this range.

But, almost everyone dies from other things before this happens, often because the as a body starts to “wear out” from old age, it weakens and can’t survive infections or sufficiently heal from injuries.