Aging Process

As humans, it is known that aging is part of growing up. The average human has a life expectancy of seventy-seven years old in the United States (Why do we age?). Most people dread their birthdays when they get to a certain age simply because that is another year older. Some people even fear aging assuming that they are another year closer to death. Does this feeling have to be this way? Should people have to fear getting older? Should they actually be looking forward to it? Many Americans do not know the answer to these questions and that is okay. There are a lot of theories and tests done by scientists to show how aging occurs. Even though aging happens to everyone, humans do have the ability to slow down how quickly they age.
The aging process as it is known involves many different theories. One theory is that our genes determine the length of time humans have to live their lives. Some scientists have said that if this is true, there should be a way to manipulate that age-figuring gene to make people live longer lives. Another theory as to why aging happens is that over time our bodies, along with its DNA, cannot function properly because of getting damaged. If these damages get too serious, our bodies eventually stop working the way they should because of not being able to handle the damages any longer. A third theory that scientists gathered is that mitochondria may have something to do with the aging process. Mitochondria are “organelle in the cytoplasm of cells that functions in energy production” (Mitochondria). Not all DNA in our bodies is located in the nucleus, resulting in some DNA to be in our mitochondria. Since our mitochondria are energy creators and may become mutated, they could be damaged and even dysfunctional, leading to aging of the body as a result. Scientists have found evidence in their research to back up all three of these theories. Thus, making it very difficult to determine the exact reason as to why the aging