
Why We Die
The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality
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Narrated by:
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John Moraitis
About this listen
""Utterly fascinating."" —Bill Bryson
""An incredible journey."" —Siddhartha Mukherjee
A groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity and mortality—from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan
The knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. One of the most difficult moments of childhood must be when each of us first realizes that not only we but all our loved ones will die—and there is nothing we can do about it.
Or at least, there hasn’t been. Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age—and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?
Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology. But might death serve a necessary biological purpose? What are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever?
Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.
©2024 Venki Ramakrishnan (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you wondered why some 60-year-olds look and feel like 40-year-olds and why some 40-year-olds look and feel like 60-year-olds? While many factors contribute to aging and illness, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn discovered a biological indicator called telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our genetic heritage. Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Elissa Epel's research shows that the length and health of one's telomeres are a biological underpinning of the long-hypothesized mind-body connection.
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I expected so much more
- By Innate on 01-28-17
By: Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, and others
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Jellyfish Age Backwards
- Nature's Secrets to Longevity
- By: Nicklas Brendborg
- Narrated by: Joe Leat
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Recent advances in medicine and technology have expanded our understanding of aging across the animal kingdom, and our own timeless quest for the fountain of youth. Yet, despite modern humans living longer today than ever before, the public’s understanding of what is possible is limited to our species—until now. In this spunky, effervescent debut, the key to immortality is revealed to be a superpower within reach.
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Interesting for the non-scientist
- By Andrew Lim on 03-31-23
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Life as No One Knows It
- The Physics of Life's Emergence
- By: Sara Imari Walker
- Narrated by: Sara Imari Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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What is life? This is among the most difficult open problems in science, right up there with the nature of consciousness and the existence of matter. All the definitions we have fall short. None help us understand how life originates or the full range of possibilities for what life on other planets might look like. In Life as No One Knows It, physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker argues that solving the origin of life requires radical new thinking and an experimentally testable theory for what life is.
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Fascinating thought patterns
- By John linden on 09-10-24
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How We Die
- Reflections on Life's Final Chapter
- By: Sherwin B. Nuland
- Narrated by: Sherwin B. Nuland
- Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
- Abridged
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Even more relevant than when it was first published, this edition addresses contemporary issues in end-of-life care and includes an all-embracing and incisive afterword that examines the state of health care and our relationship with life as it approaches its terminus. How We Die also discusses how we can take control of our own final days and those of our loved ones.
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Rip-off
- By T. McG. on 03-07-14
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Eve
- How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
- By: Cat Bohannon
- Narrated by: Cat Bohannon
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Why do women live longer than men? Why do women have menopause? Why are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s? Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? And does the female brain really exist? In Eve, Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, she covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex.
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Stronger on reproductive bio, flimsy on sexuality
- By curiouscolugo on 12-20-23
By: Cat Bohannon
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The Signal and the Noise
- Why So Many Predictions Fail - but Some Don't
- By: Nate Silver
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair’s breadth, and became a national sensation as a blogger - all by the time he was 30. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political forecaster with his near perfect prediction of the 2012 election. Silver is the founder and editor in chief of the website FiveThirtyEight. Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data.
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Learn About Statistics Without All The Math
- By Scott Fabel on 03-09-13
By: Nate Silver
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The Art of Reading Minds
- How to Understand and Influence Others Without Them Noticing
- By: Henrik Fexeus
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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How would you like to know what the people around you are thinking? Would you like to network like a pro, persuade your boss to give you that promotion, and finally become the life of every party? Now, with Henrik Fexeus' expertise, you can. This international best seller teaches you everything you need to know in order to become an expert at mind-reading.
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Henrik has created a fun and very useful audiobook
- By Gregor on 06-25-20
By: Henrik Fexeus
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Why We Remember
- Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters
- By: Charan Ranganath PhD
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins, Charan Ranganath PhD
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Memory is far more than a record of the past. In this groundbreaking tour of the mind and brain, one of the world’s top memory researchers reveals the powerful role memory plays in nearly every aspect of our lives, from recalling faces and names, to learning, decision-making, trauma and healing.
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nothing soectacularly revealing
- By paul d. on 06-12-25
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The Precipice
- Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
- By: Toby Ord
- Narrated by: Toby Ord
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back.
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The 80000hours website is better
- By Cristi on 08-06-20
By: Toby Ord
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The Song of the Cell
- An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
- By: Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Emperor of All Maladies, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and The Gene, a #1 New York Times bestseller, comes his most spectacular book yet, an exploration of medicine and our radical new ability to manipulate cells. Rich with Mukherjee’s revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, The Song of the Cell is the third book in this extraordinary writer’s exploration of what it means to be human.
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Beyond Words Wonderful
- By Lynn on 11-27-22
The author does wag his finger at some researchers for their SciFi style bias and hype, which I think was very appropriate. I was however turned off by his own social and political bias, which was most pronounced in the final chapter. His belief that longer lives let the old oppress the young, which makes extended life spans a social injustice, has me question earlier opinions in this book.
The narrator was ok, but this isn't the best subject for him to read.
Good technical overview of current work and many key players, but I question his point of view.
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Fantastic Exploration of Modern Biological Research and Findings
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the reason for only 4 instead of 5 star review is his idea of "intergenerational fairness". his idea that old brains don't work as well as young ones is correct, but he also assume boomers and millennials/gen-z have same work ethics and boomers are not letting go of their positions to the younger gens. the fact is younger gens with social media influences are often unprepared and not willing to put in the work or time but demand senior pays, while expect senior staff to permanently do some of their work. even in medicine, many older docs end up taking calls for the young docs as young docs refuse to take calls because of "work life balance'. older gens can't let go of income and power, while younger gens can't wait to to stop working or retire early. life is not fair and only fools think it can be fair to all.
very well written and more objective than most
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informative, thoughtful and kind
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Fear of the Reaper
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Terrible narration
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Brilliant. The book was fantastic and level headed. I appreciated also the way he criticized Sinclair.
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I wasn't crazy about the narration (though it isn't bad or anything). I did end up getting the ebook, though I'm glad there is an audiobook option to broaden the book's reach!
Will definitely go back and read Dr. Ramakrishnan's earlier book on ribosomes!
Excellent! So glad I found this book
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narrator didn't work for me
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Fascinating information about how our cells and body age
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