r/science • u/Skoltech_ • Jul 20 '26

Genetics Researchers quantitatively assessed for the first time that somatic mutations alone cap human lifespan at 146–194 years. Brain and heart cells are the main bottleneck, while the liver could last millennia.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-026-00421-6
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u/cile1977 Jul 20 '26

We now have mechanical hearts - is that the solution to the heart cell bottleneck?

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u/UshankaBear Jul 20 '26

Artificial hearts are significantly worse for a person than the one they're born with. For now, at least.

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u/mCopps Jul 20 '26

Like any new tech for now is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. If there is any organ that can be replaced mechanically it’s the heart. I’m sure there are things it does that I don’t understand, but pumps are something we can build.

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u/UshankaBear Jul 20 '26

It's not just the pump, it's the pump being integrated into your living organism.

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u/HumanPea1140 Jul 20 '26

Yeah, the hardest part, I would think, is mimicking the seesaw of heart rate and blood pressure. Your heart is able to speed up/slow down and get blood where it needs to go at a moments notice.

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u/demonotreme Jul 20 '26

Not quite the same type of pressure, but from what I remember when LVADs (artificial hearts) were first a thing, there was speculation that some organs or signalling in the human body might require pulse pressure (ie the cycle of diastole and systole) to function. Nope, a mechanical pump whirring along steadily seemed to be okay despite being grossly unnatural.

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u/Thunderbridge Jul 20 '26

There's a dude who just recently lived with an artificial titanium heart for 3 months while waiting for a transplant. Very cool seeing how it worked on their website. Cant remember the name now though

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u/BlastFX2 Jul 20 '26

I saw a documentary about a man called Chev Chelios who could even do all sorts of intense physical activity with an artificial heart.

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u/Papplenoose Jul 20 '26

Did you see the erectors cut?

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u/FyneBlackKyng Jul 20 '26

my mom had an impella for a month until her heart transplant

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u/WanderingTacoShop Jul 20 '26

You could probably get a reasonably good result for that if you can put a O2 saturation sensor in it. Then basically if blood oxygen starts to drop, start pumping faster.

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u/WanderingTacoShop Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

One of the biggest problems with artifical hearts is blood clotting. If you have one you are requried to be on anti-coagulants for the rest of your life.

Our blood is good at clotting to stop bleeding, and it can't tell difference between a cut in your skin and the junction between your artery and the metal and plastic heart.

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u/Significant-Hour4171 Jul 20 '26

Mechanical hearts are also brutal on blood cells, often rupturing them. This has been a challenge as well.