(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

Here’s the thing. Disease is a very broad term, and can refer to any disorder of the body not caused by external injury. So yes, our bodies do naturally wear out over time, but the effects of that wear would count as diseases.

That being said, the age related diseases we deal with today do not necessarily represent the theoretical limit of human age. Scientists believe that if these diseases could be cured, our bodies could last much longer before more advanced age related diseases would finally kill us.