The concept of people today living 1000 years sounds ridiculous.

"How," you say, "Can that be?! Do I just take the best multivitamins. Spend money at the vitamin world, keep my washboard abs, and poof, I'm 1000?"

Yes, and no.

Taking vitamins, staying healthy (the abs, part), and maintaining a lifestyle around maintaining your body are key elements. If you chain smoke, pound down vodkas, and spend your spare time having unprotected sex for kicks, don't plan on hitting the big one zero zero zero.

On the other hand, just because you practice yoga and buy your foot at Earth, Wind, and Flour, doesn't guarantee you a longevity ticket. But you're in the drawing. Here's how it works:

The technology and medicine isn't currently available to allow people living today (say, a 75 year old man) to live to be 1000. The modern 75 year old man is going to die. But a 5 year old...

A 5 year old boy has roughly 80 years to grow before he's ripe for death. during those 80 years, there's a good chance technology and medicine will improve to allow that 5 year old to live to the age of 200 (not 1000 mind you, just 200). Now, by the time he hits 80, he's got another 120 years.

During his next 120 years, there's a good chance medicine will improve to increase the average lifespan to, say, 350. So, by the time he hits 200, providing he hasn't died in war, a car accident, disease, nuclear winter, or other such atrocities, he's got until 350.

The cycle continues, he hits 350, but now people are living to be 500. he hits 500 and 700 is the new 500. All the way up to 1000. At some point as our 5 year old boy ages, the lines on the graph of advancing medicine and aging will cross. Medicine will advance faster than people age, and the 1000 year lifespan will be possible.

Now all we have to worry about is the nuclear winter...