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.Curious about other biology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your topic on a future episode! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy