A few ideas on battling aging

Science is constantly looking at ways to battle aging. Naomi Lavelle examines some of their best ideas so far.

What is the longest living animal on earth? You may be thinking whales, tortoises or sharks perhaps? And in human terms they can live pretty long lives, some well over 100 years. But have you ever heard of the Antarctic glass sponge that can apparently live for more than 10,000 years; or how about the immortal jellyfish?

Humans like to think we are the most important and evolved species on earth, but when it comes to longevity we are lightweights. The good news is that we are the only species that are extending our life expectancy; 100 years ago humans could only expect to live about 50 years, today that has expanded to 71. The maximum human life span, on the other hand, has remained about the same.