As far back as the seventh century BC, the Nineveh tablets and earliest surviving Greek poems bore witness to the human preoccupation with immortality, eternal youth and the comparative longevity of species. While the origins of these discussions can be traced back to ancient thinkers like Aristotle and Plutarch, it was not until the Renaissance of the sixteenth century that these ideas experienced a notable revival in the West. The seventeenth-century founders of modern science were distinguished from alchemists not so much by their objectives, such as living for a thousand years, but by the methods they either used or proposed to achieve their desired results. Despite the Enlightenment giving rise to scientific upheavals that began to challenge the status quo, theories were tested with only few empirical data until the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, the click of a button will provide quality data on human longevity covering many years in at least 41 countries, thanks for to the Human Mortality Database (HMD). After first presenting an overview of the historical perspective, this chapter explores trends of a recently introduced longevity indicator from the early twentieth century. It highlights the benefits of this metric in comparison to traditional measures and employs a decomposition approach to quantify the role of old-age mortality changes in shaping recent trends in human longevity.

Humans live longer today than ever before. The remarkable rise in longevity occurred in a brief period of human history, roughly since the eighteenth century, and was driven by persistent efforts against epidemics, famines, health insecurity and chronic diseases. This chapter covers essential concepts regarding this extraordinary achievement for the human race, such as the demographic transition model, distinguishable from the earlier Neolithic demographic transition, which both led in their unique way to substantial alterations in the cause and age distribution of deaths. To account for the shift in disease patterns over time, the concept of epidemiological transition was originally proposed by Abdel Omran in the early 1970s and later evolved into broader conceptual frameworks, including the health transition. The chapter concludes by briefly addressing whether increased human longevity is matched by improved health and its future sustainability.

In the years following FDA approval of direct-to-consumer, genetic-health-risk/DTCGHR testing, millions of people in the US have sent their DNA to companies to receive personal genome health risk information without physician or other learned medical professional involvement. In Personal Genome Medicine, Michael J. Malinowski examines the ethical, legal, and social implications of this development. Drawing from the past and present of medicine in the US, Malinowski applies law, policy, public and private sector practices, and governing norms to analyze the commercial personal genome sequencing and testing sectors and to assess their impact on the future of US medicine. Written in relatable and accessible language, the book also proposes regulatory reforms for government and medical professionals that will enable technological advancements while maintaining personal and public health standards.

In the years following FDA approval of direct-to-consumer, genetic-health-risk/DTCGHR testing, millions of people in the US have sent their DNA to companies to receive personal genome health risk information without physician or other learned medical professional involvement. In Personal Genome Medicine, Michael J. Malinowski examines the ethical, legal, and social implications of this development. Drawing from the past and present of medicine in the US, Malinowski applies law, policy, public and private sector practices, and governing norms to analyze the commercial personal genome sequencing and testing sectors and to assess their impact on the future of US medicine. Written in relatable and accessible language, the book also proposes regulatory reforms for government and medical professionals that will enable technological advancements while maintaining personal and public health standards.