(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

Not one person *ever* has died of old age. Not your great grandma, not your childhood pet. In 100% of circumstances, something kills you. A disease. A small dose of radiation. A heart attack or stroke. The difference is that as you age, your body becomes less and less able to appropriately protect itself. Your cells don’t replicate as quick, your immune system can’t produce everything it needs to to protect you, and eventually… You succumb to something. Even people that “die peacefully in their sleep” are killed by something.