Ok so maybe it's a "middle age" thing, or maybe I'm just having a "mid-life crisis"... whatever the fuck that means? But I have been reading a lot lately about the science of longevity. You know..., how to live a long, LONG, time. (FYI: I'm not ready for a funeral plan just yet, but I would rather not wait until the last minute on this).
There is a LOT of new research to absorb and a HELL OF A LOT of really interesting things happening these days. First of all don't go thinkin' I'm KrAZy, the science is backing me up on this. (No, REALLY!)
Here are a few points of interest:
ONE: The goal of the longevity research, and the ultimate treatments they may reveal, is not about adding a couple of years, or even a decade, to the last part of our lives. The scientist are attempting to learn why we age in the first place. To figure out what exactly is going on at a cellular level that makes us less young than the day before? The surprising news is that they ARE actually figuring this stuff out. So, if properly applied you won't become old at all. Your age will go up, obviously, but your biological age will equalize, then stop. With the treatments they are envisioning your body will learn how to keep itself repaired, and just never develop the age diseases we think of as being "old".
TWO: No one company is going to introduce a single anti-age pill, not at least for the next 20 years or so. The common theory going now is that if you can stay in good health for another 20 years, the bio-technology will be in place to let you live about 30% to 40% longer, up to about 125 years. If you manage to live that much longer then a second stage of treatments will push you another 80+ years, maybe to around 200 years.... if you can make it that far, then you might just live indefinitely... like to a 1000 years, 2000 years, or maybe much longer. OK... you won't ever become physically immortal like Superman, or immune to a Karate Death Blow , but you won't slowly grow old and rot away in your own skin .
THREE: That first step above, the one where you live to about 125, is already well under way and is expected to be ready for the mass market in the next 10-15 years. There are currently health drugs on the market that don't stop aging, but do help to greatly reduce the effects of aging. This "First Bridge" should allow anyone who is not already mired in old age to live long enough to reach the "Second Bridge" where the treatments will be available to reset your biological age back to a younger you.
So, my advice? You might want to worry a little less about retirement and little more about how to stay healthy for a few more years. (Retirement is going to be for those who didn't keep up with the biotech trends and are preparing to die). Then begin to sock away some cash to re-educate yourself and figure out what you might like to be when you grow up... again.
Wanna read more? Try some of the links below.
http://www.mprize.com/
http://www.maxlife.org/
http://www.kurzweilai.net
http://www.rayandterry.com
Read the book "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil
There is a LOT of new research to absorb and a HELL OF A LOT of really interesting things happening these days. First of all don't go thinkin' I'm KrAZy, the science is backing me up on this. (No, REALLY!)
Here are a few points of interest:
ONE: The goal of the longevity research, and the ultimate treatments they may reveal, is not about adding a couple of years, or even a decade, to the last part of our lives. The scientist are attempting to learn why we age in the first place. To figure out what exactly is going on at a cellular level that makes us less young than the day before? The surprising news is that they ARE actually figuring this stuff out. So, if properly applied you won't become old at all. Your age will go up, obviously, but your biological age will equalize, then stop. With the treatments they are envisioning your body will learn how to keep itself repaired, and just never develop the age diseases we think of as being "old".
TWO: No one company is going to introduce a single anti-age pill, not at least for the next 20 years or so. The common theory going now is that if you can stay in good health for another 20 years, the bio-technology will be in place to let you live about 30% to 40% longer, up to about 125 years. If you manage to live that much longer then a second stage of treatments will push you another 80+ years, maybe to around 200 years.... if you can make it that far, then you might just live indefinitely... like to a 1000 years, 2000 years, or maybe much longer. OK... you won't ever become physically immortal like Superman, or immune to a Karate Death Blow , but you won't slowly grow old and rot away in your own skin .
THREE: That first step above, the one where you live to about 125, is already well under way and is expected to be ready for the mass market in the next 10-15 years. There are currently health drugs on the market that don't stop aging, but do help to greatly reduce the effects of aging. This "First Bridge" should allow anyone who is not already mired in old age to live long enough to reach the "Second Bridge" where the treatments will be available to reset your biological age back to a younger you.
So, my advice? You might want to worry a little less about retirement and little more about how to stay healthy for a few more years. (Retirement is going to be for those who didn't keep up with the biotech trends and are preparing to die). Then begin to sock away some cash to re-educate yourself and figure out what you might like to be when you grow up... again.
Wanna read more? Try some of the links below.
http://www.mprize.com/
http://www.maxlife.org/
http://www.kurzweilai.net
http://www.rayandterry.com
Read the book "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil