Could people soon be living forever?

>>> back now at 7:48 with the latest discovery that has some scientists asking if it is possible to live forever . nbc's michelle kosinski 's here with details. hey, michelle, good morning.

>> hi, good morning, ann. you know, you talk to some top researchers, microbiologists, molecular geneticists, and it's hard to believe what they're saying is real and not science fiction . there's a growing group of scientists that sees aging not necessarily as an inevitability, but a problem that they believe can be fixed. in science labs around the world, right now the race is heating up to reverse human aging. you heard right. not slow it down or fix it up, but turn it around, by things like regenerating tissues and organs, using stem cells , computers. there's a printer that makes blood vessels, mice that regrow intestines.

>> what would excite me is that i'm working on the world's biggest, oldest problem.

>> reporter: there's someone alive today who could live for thousands of years?

>> i don't think there is any limit. there is nothing that would stop people intrinsically from people living thousands of years.

>> reporter: at 1,000-year-old cambridge university , where back then people hardly lived past their 20s, they're spearheading research, gathering experts to end aging. they see it not at all as a necessity, but a problem, a build-up of damage and gunk in ourselves. he just isolated an enzyme in bacteria that fixes that and might work in human cells , too.

>> when we get these therapies, the world is going to be very different.

>> reporter: there are all kinds of ideas out there -- implanted computer chips to operate mechanical body parts --

>> here, why don't you take these?

>> reporter: and a supplement created by american geneticist bill andrews , that he says shortens our tell meres, which is a main reason why we age.

>> the main reason i want to live forever , it's fun to be alive.

>> yes.

>> reporter: inspired by his dad, who challenged him as a child to become a doctor and cure aging.

>> the literature tells us that i would say 95% certain or better that if we can find ways to lengthen the telomeres, we will reverse aging.

>> reporter: there are doubters, but some believe real breakthrough in lifespan are possible, soon. there is a book on why society believes we could live to 100 or 1,000. if there's reason to live , you might eat more potato chips on the couch.

>> you might. the idea of a longer lifespan gives you more opportunity to try new things and be more adventurous.

>> reporter: these scientists pushing their mortal minds to the limit.

>> would you hurry up?

>> yeah.

>> i promised that i would reach 150.

>> reporter: to, as they put it, cure aging or die trying . and it's not just about extending lifespan, it's about extending health. and it's funny to hear them talk about this as if it was a car, that if you keep replacing the parts, theoretically, it could last forever. but you know, this research is in the very early stages. there's not a lot of funding and no human has ever lived past 125.

>> 125 is pretty good, but boy, wouldn't it be something, matt, to live further? what would we do with our time?

>> what's your definition of soon that they're going to come up with this stuff? is this going to help me?

>> 10 years, 20 years?

>> yeah, you're going to live forever as a 70-year-old, how