For those of you who think that living forever is as out of reach as the Moon, you might want to rethink that thought. It’s not as far away as you think.
Physically, the moon is only 238,900 miles (384,400 km) from Earth. That’s not very far when we consider that we have been there and back many times within the last five decades. But how many times have we been able to reverse ageing? Or extend life beyond the average years that humans have been able to live?
The answer, of course, is a big fat ZERO.
At this time, we are unable to reverse ageing (more on that later). We can extend lifespans, but we can’t prevent ourselves from getting old. This is part of the natural cycle of life. We are born, we live, and then we die.
Some people would argue that we should not eliminate death because that would disrupt the cycle of life and cause an imbalance which could disrupt everything, from the environment, to the safety of the planet, to the integrity of the eternal soul. We might even turn into vampires, sucking the life out of others just to maintain our own worthless existences—etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
The arguments against indefinite life extension is abundant and compelling…until those who argue against death must face it, up close and personal, either for themselves or for their spouses and children.
Then, it changes.
It changes into—’well, it’s ok for me and mine. In fact, it’s necessary because we are valued and important members of society that can contribute greatly to the advancement of humanity,’ (never mind the fact that when pressed to describe the manner with which the contributions will aid humanity, these very same people proffer responses that are often—not always, but quite often—vague and nebulous).
But indefinite life extension for the great unwashed multitude? Oh no. The horrors of that possibility is too great to bear. How will we keep them in line? How will we feed them all? (never mind the fact that the vast majority of the world’s population exists on far, far less—and has far less body mass—than the typical overweight American.) The question is actually closer to, how will we be able to maintain our FAT bodies if we can’t have all the food to ourselves? I say this with a big grin, as I am stuffing a slice of pepperoni pizza into my face.
Well, regardless of what our opinions are, the wheels of science grinds onward. Just as a moving sidewalk propels us forward, we continue to advance, even though we may not be moving our legs. For those who are adamantly opposed to scientific advancement, they can try to run backwards, but as the Red Queen says, ‘Good luck with that’. They will have to move twice as fast to go backwards at all. Simply moving at the same pace will only result in standing still. Like it or not, we will reach immortality, probably later rather than sooner, but it will happen.
But don’t take my word for it. There are folks whose day jobs are narrowly focused in this endeavour, for the sole purpose of creating an immortal humankind. ”I am working on immortality,” says UC Irvine’s Michael Rose, who has achieved breakthrough results extending the lives of fruit flies.[1]
People—don’t laugh. Today, it’s fruit flies. Tomorrow, it will be chimpanzees. And the next day, it’s our turn.
“There are many components of aging and we are chipping away at all of them,” added Robert Freitas at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing. “In the future,” Freitas claims, “aging will be cured.”[2]
Ha! Cured…as if ageing is a dreaded disease that must be eradicated.
But that is exactly what ageing is viewed as, by scientists in the field of health care. Author Ray Kurzweil, in Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, states that we are in the early stages of an anti-aging revolution. “By 2020,” he says, “biotech upgrades will add more than one year of life expectancy to our lives each year.”[3]
Hello! We are at the tail end of 2013. That’s only seven years away, a mere blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. In fact, between now and 2030, all the various technologies will have converged to the point where it is technically possible that stem cell therapies, 3-D bioprinter techniques, and genetic engineering procedures will be able to cure most of today’s diseases—or at least make them more manageable to the point where life can be extended enough to take advantage of new breakthroughs as they become available.
Just don’t do anything stupid. Stay alive long enough to take advantage of what’s about to come.
…
1. https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/04/the-work-of-michael-rose.php
2. http://www.wfs.org/Dec09-Jan10/freitas.htm
3. http://www.fantastic-voyage.net/
Taobabe 
FYI, researchers at Harvard University have discovered a new cause of aging in mammals that may be reversible. The essence of this finding is a series of molecular events that enable communication inside cells with mitochondria. As communication breaks down, aging accelerates. By administering a molecule naturally produced by the human body, scientists restored the communication network in older mice. Examining muscle from two-year-old mice that had been given the NAD-producing compound for just one week, the researchers looked for indicators of insulin resistance, inflammation and muscle wasting. In all three instances, tissue from the mice resembled that of six-month-old mice. In human years, this would be like a 60-year-old converting to a 20-year-old in these specific areas. Human trials will begin within a year.
See: http://hms.harvard.edu/news/genetics/new-reversible-cause-aging-12-19-13
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Mr. Ma, I am now itching to find out whatever happened to this research. Has it migrated to humans yet?
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The FDA has fast tracked human trials, but it’ll still take years to approve it for use. The researchers have started a nutraceuticals company to sell”activators” of NAD production, with a few Nobel Laureates on the board, but it feels a bit iffy. It’s certainly an interesting research! BTW, I love your blog!
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Thank you Moses, for your interest in my writings. I’m glad that you mentioned Niagen. I’ve been taking 2 capsules a day (250mg per pill, for a minuscule total of 500mg per day) of nicotinamide riboside, for a couple of months now. I don’t seem to be seeing much, if anything, that is different. I probably haven’t been on it long enough for any effect to take place, and even probably underdosing the recommended allowance, but I’ll keep it up since it doesn’t seem to do any harm so far.
I’ll post an update, if I get any interesting result. Meanwhile, I’m keeping an eye out on other new anti-aging developments. We live in very interesting times!
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I did try a month of Niagen, from Basis, but didn’t feel much difference. The best anti-aging effects I’ve seen have been with placental extract, fasting & detox, and interval training…Plus, wrap it all up with a daily qigong practice.
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Ah. You do qigong. That’s a pretty good anti-aging activity, if I ever saw one. Fasting & detox is hard to do, especially if one loves food (like me), but I guess I can do that. 😛 (big sigh)
Where in the world does one get placental extract?
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Why don’t you write me privately and I can provide details?
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Thank you for the article? Hopefully it will be affordable for the vast majority.
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Kei Toeda, just by the fact that you are alive today proves my point. Had you been born a mere 200 years ago, your average normal life span would have been somewhere in the mid-fifties. Today, most fifty-year-olds are still working, productive, energetic people of the modern era.
This is a tidal wave that catches everyone. Sure, at the very start of it all, it only reaches those who are able to afford the first waves, but once the tsunami arrives, it takes hold of everyone. Herd immunity didn’t happen until widespread vaccination began. Most kids who would have died in childhood due to these diseases don’t even have an inkling what those diseases are because they don’t have personal experience with it, or have seen any of their friends afflicted by it. Of course, ever since the advent of de-vaccination (whereby parents refused to vaccinate their children) the diseases have once again begun to surface, but you get the idea.
Will there be challenges that we will be facing? Sure, we will need to face many challenges as a race (the human race) but if we are able to hold onto the wisest minds and allow them to work on these challenges, unfettered by the ravages of geriatric diseases, we can certainly rise above and find solutions to all our problems. To say people need to die so younger generation have space to occupy, I say: there is a universe of space out there. Go and occupy those spaces (not yet occupied by non-terrestrians that is).
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