TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
Another biochemical study on aging makes the long life spans recorded in Genesis 5 and 11 scientifically plausible. Researchers demonstrated that the adverse effects of aging on the immune system can be delayed by caloric restriction. Such a measure has been known to dramatically extend the life expectancy of model laboratory organisms due to the mediation by the sirtuin family of enzymes. It appears that indirectly affecting the activity of these enzymes delays aging in primates. If scientists can significantly influence life spans by simple biochemical intervention, it is not unreasonable to think that a Creator could adjust human biochemistry to permit long life spans and then shorten them after the Flood. In light of this study, the long human life spans described in Genesis are scientifically reasonable.
Ilhem Messaoudi et al., “Delay of T Cell Senescence by Caloric Restriction in Aged Long-Lived Nonhuman Primates,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 103 (2006): 19448-53.
In his book, In Quest of the Historical Adam, distinguished Christian apologist William Lane Craig labels the Genesis accounts of Noah’s Flood, the Table of...
