Other What if oxygen is actually poisonous, but it just takes 75-100 years to kill us?

[ConfusingSerenity]

Just something interesting I saw, and wanted to see what other people thought.


...So thoughts?

 

[~OneHellofAButler~]

if this is saying the reason we die around that age is because of oxegyn being poisonous i'd say it's kind of a silly notion to think about. The average lifespan of a human increases little by little each year. I mean think back a couple thousand years ago. The average lifespan a while ago was 50 and even further back 30 and even further back 25-27. Now of course I acknowledge the possibility of us growing immune to it but i think it's more likely that it's far from deadly where humans are concerned (at least with the amount we recieve)

 

[Nirvana]

if this is saying the reason we die around that age is because of oxegyn being poisonous i'd say it's kind of a silly notion to think about. The average lifespan of a human increases little by little each year. I mean think back a couple thousand years ago. The average lifespan a while ago was 50 and even further back 30 and even further back 25-27. Now of course I acknowledge the possibility of us growing immune to it but i think it's more likely that it's far from deadly where humans are concerned (at least with the amount we recieve)

The lifespan was this short because there was less technology, hence less medicine. Hence, more disease. Hence, more disease in water.

 

[~OneHellofAButler~]

The lifespan was this short because there was less technology, hence less medicine. Hence, more disease. Hence, more disease in water.

My point was saying oxygen wasn't the primary cause but yes you are indeed right. Humans are constantly expanding in ways of knowledge in technology which further extends their lifespan it seems.

 

[Melix]

From both points of view:


1. This is a highly unlikely notion, and here's why: when you get run over or someone beats you up and leaves you for dead or whatever other horrible disaster happens that makes you or other people call the ambulance, they pump you full of oxygen. (Not always.)


And usually, if you were going to die, it saves you.


If oxygen was poisonous, the high amount of oxygen combined with your weakened state would surely kill you in a short matter of time. (An hour? A day? A week? I'm not a doctor or a scientist- I can't speculate.)


2. Supposing it were true, anyway, that may mean that as humans evolve, we become more immune to this poison as time goes on, making us live longer.


^^ Could be one theory, anyway. But, uh, I definitely think I'm more right if not completely right on number one.

 

[Alice]

Well, It is a interesting theory, Usually when someone dies from old age its because over time our cells age and stop reproducing, so our energy decreases, we get weaker, and in the end we just kind of die, Old age isn't so likely, usually we die from a sickness that can be easier to get with older age. But increased amount of oxygen causes the release of a chemical known as dopamine that gives a good feeling, so if anything oxygen is good for us. Maybe the pollution in some of it could affect us over time.

 

[WanderingTyrant]

I wonder how many 'Conspiracy Keanu' memes you went through before you found that one?


Enough, as it seems.


Regardless, it is technically poisonous, as we oxidize until we die.


When we die, it is because the telomere on the end of our chromosomes deteriorate until they no longer serve their purpose in protecting our DNA from rogue, damaging atoms that are a waste product. Their specific name slips my mind. I THINK they have something to do with oxygen atoms. Although I'm not sure. Regardless, these little atoms are what cause aging.


So yeah, I guess it is kind of poisonous.


But lack of oxygen kills you faster.

 

[Quill]

I mean think back a couple thousand years ago. The average lifespan a while ago was 50 and even further back 30 and even further back 25-27.

While accurate, I'd just like to jot in that these statistics are misleading. They are so low due to the high infant mortality rate. Among adults who survived past, say, 3, age was a lot higher, reaching 50-70 depending on the time period / area. Our modern medicine has vastly improved infant and child mortality as well as prolonged the lifespan of the diseased, however the maximum human life expectancy at any given time period has only been changed by ~10 years (rather than ~50 years as is commonly misconceived) by these advancements.


P.S. Scientific American has a pretty decent article about this, but it's kinda old. The whole "is oxygen killing us" thing was big in the geek community about five or six years ago, but for various reasons, including the dilemmas with experimenting around causes of death, most results have been inconclusive or contradictory. However, it is possible that, in excessive doses, oxygen is indeed toxic for humans – but isn't that true of anything, really? !EXCEPT CHOCOLATE!

 

[Ineffectivd]

I read somewhere that they experimented on a guinea pig by pumping the room full of oxygen, just PURE oxygen. The rodent died in about an hour or so.

 

[Quill]

………Well, obviously. The rodent would be inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide, so with a room full of only pure oxygen, after a short while the rodent would run out of oxygen and suffocate on carbon dioxide, much like being gassed – if it didn't die from hyperoxicity first.

 

[WolphNight]

I read somewhere that oxygen IS actually poisonous if it's pure oxygen. The oxygen we breath is only a small percent of real oxygen. So, yeah.

 

[Athral]

I read somewhere that oxygen IS actually poisonous if it's pure oxygen. The oxygen we breath is only a small percent of real oxygen. So, yeah.

You are right. Although I won't go into deeply, breathing 100% oxygen is bad. Dry air contains contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and other small gases. So we only breath about 20% of oxygen.

 

[Athral]

You are right. Although I won't go into it deeply, breathing 100% oxygen is bad. Dry air contains contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and other small gases. So we only breath about 20% of oxygen.

 

[Athral]

Accidentally posted again.

 

[Drifter]

Lol! You over thought this 75 to 100 yrs is between the average human lifespan anyways!

 

[Hunnyhelp]

Actually we don't breath much oxygen. Our bodies acutely inhale about 79% nitrogen. So in a way it is poisonous. Too much and our bodies die.

 

[Drifter]

^That is incorrect, because in hospitals they are given different percentages of oxygen depending on their condition. When divers come out of decompression from deep waters too quickly and they have the Benz the percentage of oxygen they use to treat the diver with is also higher. Dr.Quan, also noted in the medical field & cellular biology states that the reason we do not breathe pure oxygen, is that when oxygen is at anything higher then 20% & the person is asleep, a trigger mechanism cannot find the trace carbon dioxide we need in the brain to tell us to keep breathing. So cumlative oxygen is not a toxic buildup as we need it for atp energy processing. Now the process of making energy puts wear & tear on the body, but that is due to the law of entropy not the toxticity of oxygen.

 

[Hunnyhelp]

Ok I had no idea what you said but you are right I guess.

 

[Drifter]

The best way too explain it is that when you are concious oxygen enrichment is not dangerous because the other sensors in your body compensate by demanding oxygen for normal function. When you are asleep an oxygen rich enviroment is dangerous due to the lack of oxygen demand in a rest state, so without carbon dioxide to trigger the breathe mechanism you could die of suffocation. Now the combustion of using oxygen to make energy is like the exhaust in a car, it creates free radicals which causes the body to age. The same way a car engine will eventually break down over time. 

I read somewhere that oxygen IS actually poisonous if it's pure oxygen. The oxygen we breath is only a small percent of real oxygen. So, yeah.

The poison you are talking about has to do with pressurized oxygen molecules in a 100% oxygen enriched enviroment, it can make your lungs sick, convulsions & tremors. The term is a misnomor as the crew of Apollo 11 used 100% decompressed oxygen for weeks.

 

[Sophie]

I doubt this is true. Don't ask me to give you a long paragraph of science. Just thinking from common sense though. Years ago people died at the age of 25. Nowadays, humans lifespan have expanded. I don't believe oxygen is poisonous because people have been known to exceed 100. But the thing is, if oxygen was poisonous, why would it take longer to kill us than any other living organism. To go further into that, we would have to ask ourselves if we have stronger immune systems to fight of the poison longer than other organisms with a shorter lifespan.


I'm sorry if this is ALL wrong. I haven't reached the stage of learning all about this just yet )

 

[Athral]

Besides, most of the human life span is decided by disease an other natural reasons. For instance during the Dark Ages a average lifespan was 30 years. Now due to medicine we love for a much longer time. Some live longer than others due to genetics as long as they take care of themselves. But the idea that Oxygen is killing us who have been exposed a while ago.

 

[Die Himmel]

Woah. I was not expecting this when I went to all the old stuff.

 

[Axel The Englishman]

People die of old age because the cells in our bodies decay, to the point where they ultimately become ineffective to continue function. This isn't normally achievable in a primitive society, but due to state pensions, effective housing, proper nutritious diets, and modern medical care, our average lifespans thus increase by a vast amount. Think of us as machines, where - after a period of time - our components begin to fail and we need replacements - such as a hip replacement. But we can't replace every component in our body in modern terms.

Besides, if oxygen was poisonous to humans, and since we have been exposed to it as a species over a long period of time, our bodies would have evolved to become resistant to any poisonous effects.

 

[GoldenSlime]

Bro, that would be lit.

*reads other super-long replies that include tons of science and stuff*
Uhh.... .-. The relativity of time and space to red giants is 10??

 

[Campfire Conspiracy]

Stop, just stop, don't even... ...just quit it. (Results of mind blown to a million pieces.)