Technophile NewsTechnophile News
  • Home
  • News
  • PC
  • Phones
  • Android
  • Gadgets
  • Games
  • Guides
  • Accessories
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • More
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Web Stories
    • Press Release
What's On

Garmin Announces Google Maps App With Support For Turn by Turn Navigation: All Details

10 July 2025

Dell Alienware 16 Aurora With Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU Launched in India

10 July 2025

Nothing Phone 3 India Exclusive Drop Event Set to Take Place on July 12; First 100 Buyers Get Free Headphone 1

10 July 2025

This Is DOGE 2.0

10 July 2025

Samsung says its trifold phone should launch ‘this year’

10 July 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Thursday, July 10
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
Technophile NewsTechnophile News
Demo
  • Home
  • News
  • PC
  • Phones
  • Android
  • Gadgets
  • Games
  • Guides
  • Accessories
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • More
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Web Stories
    • Press Release
Technophile NewsTechnophile News
Home » ‘We Are Not Programmed to Die,’ Says Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan
News

‘We Are Not Programmed to Die,’ Says Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan

By News Room15 April 20253 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, the man of death. Although this does not sound like a good moniker, it is: Ramakrishnan is one of the world’s most eminent scientists in the fields of structural biology and cellular processes related to aging and death. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for his discovery of the structure of the ribosome, a crucial cellular machine responsible for gene expression.

In addition to being a leading researcher, Ramakrishnan is also a prolific author. After the enormous success of The Gene Machine, a memoir in which he recounts his human and scientific journey, he published the mighty Why We Die, a book—as its name suggests—dedicated precisely to illustrating the dynamics that regulate aging and which, progressively and inexorably, lead to death.

Ramakrishnan was recently in Italy, in Milan, where he gave a lecture at the second edition of the Milan Longevity Summit, the most important Italian event dedicated to longevity and psycho-physical well-being, organized by BrainCircle Italia. It was an opportunity to meet him and ask him a few questions. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

WIRED: Professor Ramakrishnan, the crucial question in your book is why we die. But exactly what is death?

Venki Ramakrishnan: By death, we mean the irreversible loss of the ability to function as a coherent individual. It is the result of the failure of a critical system or apparatus, for example, heart, brain, lung, or kidney failure. In this sense there is an apparent paradox: When our organism, as a whole, is alive, millions of cells within us are constantly dying, and we do not even realize it. On the other hand, at the time of death, most of the cells in our bodies are still alive, and entire organs are still functioning and can be donated to people in need of transplantation. But at that point the body has lost the ability to function as a whole. In this sense, it is therefore important to distinguish between cell death and death of the individual.

Speaking of death and aging, you say in your most recent book that you “wanted to offer an objective look at our current understanding of the two phenomena.” What was the biggest surprise or most deeply held belief that you had to reconsider while writing and researching this work?

There have been several surprises, actually. One is that death, contrary to what one might think, is not programmed by our genes. Evolution does not care how long we live, but merely selects the ability to pass on our genes, a process known as “fitness” in evolutionary biology. Thus, the traits that are selected are those that help us survive childhood and reproduce. And it is these traits, later in life, that cause aging and decline.

Another curious finding was the fact that aging is not simply due to wear and tear on cells. Wear and tear happens constantly in all living things, yet different species have very different lifespans. Instead, lifespan is the result of a balance between the expenditure of resources needed to keep the organism functioning and repairing it and those needed to make it grow, mature, and keep it healthy until it reproduces and nurtures offspring.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related News

This Is DOGE 2.0

10 July 2025

Samsung says its trifold phone should launch ‘this year’

10 July 2025

The 255 Best Prime Day Deals on Stuff We’ve Tested and Love

10 July 2025

This Sony Soundbar System Sounds Like a Theater and It’s Cheaper Than Ever for Prime Day

10 July 2025

McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456’

10 July 2025

Elon Musk Unveils Grok 4 Amid Controversy Over Chatbot’s Antisemitic Posts

10 July 2025
Top Articles

Huawei Nova 14 Ultra – Price in India, Specifications (21st May 2025)

20 May 2025125 Views

iQOO Neo 10 Pro+ Confirmed to Debut This Month, Pre-Reservations Begin

8 May 202589 Views

Redmi K80 Ultra Design, Colours, and Key Features Revealed; to Get MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ SoC

18 June 202580 Views
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • WhatsApp
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Don't Miss

The 255 Best Prime Day Deals on Stuff We’ve Tested and Love

10 July 2025

Amazon Prime Day is four days in 2025, and we’re kicking off day three. The…

Gemini Rolls Out to Wear OS Smartwatches With Support for Natural Language Commands

10 July 2025

OpenAI Reportedly Working On an AI-Powered Web Browser, to Compete With Google Chrome

10 July 2025

Apple Reportedly Working on Sealed-Device Update System for MacBook Units at Apple Stores

10 July 2025
Technophile News
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube Dribbble
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Technophile News. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.