Which will come first, cybernetic bodies or a longevity vaccine?

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
How about an insulin pump that performs a pancreas's job?

An insulin pump is a long way from doing a pancreas job... a pancreas does a lot more than just secrete insulin. Plus, insulin pumps (AFAIK) don't secrete insulin in response to blood glucose levels. They probably will in the near future, but that's still miles away from being an aritificial pancreas.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Originally posted by: sdifox
I believe (no scientific backing, but it looks that way) DNA contains a lot of safeguards for the species. Meaning if your DNA meet certain ruls, it will try to kill you off to preserve the species. Cancer is essentially that mechanism working well. I guess untill we got the whole genome figured out, there is no eternal youth. Biomech is a lot more likely.

What you're referring to is a so-called 'autocide gene', some gene (or combination of genes) that causes an individual to die 'for the good of the species' (ie. to prevent overpopulation).

Such genes would contradict what we know about evolutionary theory (there is no such thing as selection at the species level, only at the individual level).

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Genx87
Isnt there a gene that turns off around age 27-28 causing cell reproduction to slow and the aging mechanism to kick in?

I would imagine if we can isolate that gene we could prolong life. But I think other things like chloresterol or other toxins would eventually catchup with us, but who knows.

You might be thinking of telomerase. Wiki

Cancer is a whole 'nother ballgame, so to speak. It's a 'normal' senescent process that results from the trade off of investment in the body vs. investment in the gametes. I know I'm splitting hairs, but it's not something that 'kicks in', it's something that gets 'turned off'. Again, think in terms of evolution: what relative reproductive advantage would an organism have if it carried genes that tried to kill it (relative to an organism that didn't have those genes)? Cancer happens when you stop/decrease investing in repairing damaged DNA.

Basically, longevity is something that evolves; current research indicates the major factor in determining an optimum lifespan for an individual is its risk of mortality due to external factors (ie. predation, disease). This is why lifespans tend to increase as you move up the food chain (fewer predators = lower risk of external mortality), and why certain animals live really long.

Ie. before humans came along with their tools, turtles' carapaces proved very effective at keeping them safe, thus, they live a long time. Also, bats, though they're the size of mice, live ~10x as long because they can fly away from danger - same thing for flighted vs. flightless birds: flighted birds live considerably longer than flightless birds despite very their similar biochemistries.

I'd be happy to cite specific articles if anyone's interested, but it should intuitively make sense. Why invest in your body, delaying reproduction, taking a long time to raise offspring, etc. when odds are, a hawk or snake or cat or whatever is likely going to eat you in a matter of days or weeks? That's why mice don't live long at all, they 'turn off' their 'repair genes' quickly after reaching maturity. That's why humans live a relatively long period of time - aside from disease & each other, there's not much that will kill us - so it makes more sense to continue investing in our own repair for quite some time.

 

[Stiffe]

think of the complications of having cybernetic implants or a drug which will prolong your life. Over population will be huge. we will be living to older and older ages. What happens if you can pay for it and someone can not...crazy....when you think about it

To answer teh thread question
Cybernetics all the way. Be so freaky with a robotic arm..like will smith in that movie
I robot.

 

[Legend]

Originally posted by: Stiffe
think of the complications of having cybernetic implants or a drug which will prolong your life. Over population will be huge. we will be living to older and older ages. What happens if you can pay for it and someone can not...crazy....when you think about it

To answer teh thread question
Cybernetics all the way. Be so freaky with a robotic arm..like will smith in that movie
I robot.

The idea behind life extension is that you slow or stop aging. Meaning that at age 150, you'd have actually aged what an average person today does by 75.

You can control the rate somewhat by what you eat, exercise, environment, etc. If you keep your body healthy at a cellular level, your cells will live longer, and antioxidants will protect your DNA from oxidation. This is why some people at 90 years appear, function and are equivalent to some people at 70. This is why people that smoke look older than they are, because they are.

As for overpopulation, yes there will have to be extremely strict laws. Such as dieing for procreating if it gets that bad.

But also think of all the benefits. Someone today spends 20-30 years being educated, works at most 40 years, and then retires. Someone that lives 300 years would be much more productive and will obtain more experience than what we can do today. They'd also have the benefit of having a healthier mind and body for a longer time, because at age 150, they'd be like 38 in today's age.

I think minor life extension by pills is within our lifetime. Something like 50 years. You can pretty much already do this with food, green tea/herbs, exercise, but only add 20-30 years.

 

[AgentJean]

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
Every time our cells divide, there is a possibility for error. The older we get, the more cell divisions and more errors. Cells also have some ability to correct some errors, but these abilities fade with age. While we may develop some incremental methods of improving cell division accuracy, there are too many factors involved for a single magic potion to cover them all. Our bodies are also storehouses for toxins and less than desirable by-products from ordinary organic functions. These are so numerous, that it would take many therapies to remove or neutralize them. We also suffer from inumerable injuries during a lifetime, ranging from the "too small to notice" variety, to the severe; all of which our bodies repair imperfectly. The longer we live, the more injuries we accumulate.

My guess is that electo-mechanical solutions will arrive first since a single replacement part may correct any number of organic defects.

What if we just stored the cored blood from birth and then used that DNA at a later time to reconstruct the broken parts?

Sure we are all screwed but the next generation might not be.

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: randay
Economically, wouldn't there be such a high demand that it would eventually become affordable to all? Just like everything else in the world. Sure it'll be expensive at first but just imagine 10 years later we'll be buying robotic limbs for just a few thousands dollars?

Wouldn't high demand keep the prices really high? If everyone wants them, then the companies producing them can charge whatever they want. It would be a difficult procedure to successfully add a useful brain chip to someone, and that alone would drive the price way up. And the quality of doctor would either be really good for a lot of money or average-quality for a cheaper price.

No one above the middle class will have them until supply is so enormous that you can practically pick one up for pennies.