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A microbiologist explains why we age and die

In his book Why We Die, author Venki Ramakrishnan looks at modern biological research to understand why our bodies age — and eventually die. "It's a peculiar situation because we're a collection of cells and when we're alive, millions of our cells are dying. ... When we die, most of our cells are still alive," says Ramakrishnan. "And so what does it mean to say you die?"
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In his book Why We Die, author Venki Ramakrishnan looks at modern biological research to understand why our bodies age — and eventually die. "It's a peculiar situation because we're a collection of cells and when we're alive, millions of our cells are dying. ... When we die, most of our cells are still alive," says Ramakrishnan. "And so what does it mean to say you die?"

Humans have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the past 200 years — but not in overall lifespan. Nobody on record has lived past 122 years. So, for this early Halloween episode, host Regina G. Barber asks: Why do we age and why do we die? Microbiologist Venki Ramakrishnan explains some of the mechanisms inside of our bodies that contribute to our decay — and tells us if it's possible to intervene in the process.

Check out Venki Ramakrishnan's book Why We Die.

Curious about other biology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your topic on a future episode!

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This episode was produced by Jessica Yung and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. The facts were checked by Tyler Jones. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.

Copyright 2024 NPR

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Jessica Yung
Regina G. Barber
Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence. She contributes original reporting on STEM and guest hosts the show.
Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.
Rebecca Ramirez
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.