Who wants to live forever?

[Studeo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0085ywx

"Who wants to live forever?" sang Freddy Mercury. Fair question, though from the discussions on our Facebook site, few people actually do. Forever seems like, well, such a long time. One Planet's considering the question thanks to a conference taking place in Barcelona entitled the "Congress on controversies in longevity, health and aging". In short, scientists will debate age prevention.

In this week's show we catch up with Dr Aubrey de Grey, one of the world's leading thinkers in the field of gerontology (the study of aging). Before heading off to that conference, Dr Aubrey debates with Mike the ethics and practicalities of age prevention.

Also in the show, Mike pops into an elderly day centre to find out whether your views of death change as you enter your golden years. Plus we have an exclusive short story from bestselling author Professor David Eagleman, the American neuroscientists famous for his book "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p0085ywx

[Lost Soul]

Sorry. I'm too old to go for eternal life in this body. That would be a curse. I'll wait until I'm reincarnated.

[Bomack]

Sorry. I'm too old to go for eternal life in this body. That would be a curse. I'll wait until I'm reincarnated.

And THAT'S how it's done!

[Anchor]

The only people that want to live for ever are the people that don't think they will already :)

[Decibellistics]

Only, if I turn into a vampire that sparkles in the sun disregarding every form of vampire lore ever created.....edgy. ;)

In all seriousness, I don't agree with the prolonging of human life as we know it through external means. I mean unless a 10 year old kid is dying of leukemia or something of the such then yea, fix that kid up....but if your reaching an age where you are flat out prolonging the inevitable then I shall have to say no. It's a fear of death, despite the fact that death follows us an arms length away every moment of our day. That in and of itself is uplifting to me.

[Studeo]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/aubrey-de-grey-ageing-research

Aubrey de Grey: We don't have to get sick as we get older

If we can stop the physical deterioration that comes with age, molecular biologist Aubrey de Grey sees no reason why human beings shouldn't live to be 1,000

Molecular biologist Aubrey de Grey Good innings: Aubrey de Grey wants to help people live to a very ripe old age. Photograph: Roland Kemp / Rex Features

With his beard and robust opinions, there's something of the Old Testament prophet about Aubrey de Grey. But the 47-year-old gerontologist (who studies the process of ageing) says his belief that he might live to the very ripe old age of 1,000 is founded not on faith but science. De Grey studied computer science at Cambridge University, but became interested in the problem of ageing more than a decade ago and is the co-founder of the Sens (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the US.

What's so wrong with getting old?

It is simply that people get sick when they get older. I don't often meet people who want to suffer cardiovascular disease or whatever, and we get those things as a result of the lifelong accumulation of various types of molecular and cellular damage. This is harmless at low levels but eventually it causes the diseases and disabilities of old age – which most people don't think are any fun.

Is this the biggest health crisis facing the world?

Absolutely. If we look at the industrialised world, basically 90% of all deaths are caused by ageing. They are deaths from causes that affect older people and don't affect young adults. And if we look at the whole world, then the number of deaths that occur each day is roughly 150,000 and about two-thirds of them are because of ageing.

Why does the world not recognise this?

People have been trying to claim that we can defeat ageing since the dawn of time, and they haven't been terribly successful; there is a tendency to think there is some sort of inevitability about ageing – it somehow transcends our technological abilities in principle, which is complete nonsense.

And when people have made their peace with this ghastly thing that is going to happen to them at some time in the distant future, they tend to be rather reluctant to re-engage the question when someone comes along with a new idea.

Is it that our bodies just stop being so proactive about living?

Basically, the body does have a vast amount of inbuilt anti-ageing machinery; it's just not 100% comprehensive, so it allows a small number of different types of molecular and cellular damage to happen and accumulate. The body does try as hard as it can to fight these things but it is a losing battle. So we are not going to be able to do anything significant about ageing without hi-tech intervention – which is what I'm working on.

Ageing involves the process of metabolism, and then deterioration, and then pathology – is that right?

Basically, that's right. Metabolism involves a vastly complicated network of biochemical and cellular processes that are linked and that succeed in keeping us alive for as long as they do, but they have these side effects.

The side-effects start even before we are born, they go on throughout life and they are manifested as, for example, the accumulation of various types of molecular garbage inside cells and outside cells, or simply as cells dying and not being automatically replaced by the division of other cells. Gradually those changes at the molecular and cellular level accumulate and accumulate and eventually they start to get in the way of metabolism, and that's where pathology comes.

You've identified seven particular areas of cellular decay that might be combated. Can you give examples?

I just mentioned cells dying and not being automatically replaced, that's one. Another is cells not dying when they ought to – certain types of cells are supposed to turn over and sometimes they lose the ability to respond to signals that tell them to die.

A third is cells dividing too much – they may be dying when they are supposed to but dividing too much, and that is what cancer is.

We've known what causes cancer for some time but we are a long way from being able to cure it, aren't we?

I certainly don't claim that any of this is easy. Some of it is easier – but I've always viewed cancer as the single hardest aspect of ageing to fix.

You've talked about enriching people's lives, but isn't it the very fact of death that gives our lives meaning?

That's nonsense. The fact is, people don't want to get sick. I'm just a practical guy. I don't want to get sick and I don't want you to get sick and that's what this is all about. I don't work on longevity, I work on keeping people healthy. The only difference between my work and the work of the whole medical profession is that I think we're in striking distance of keeping people so healthy that at 90 they'll carry on waking up in the same physical state as they were at the age of 30, and their probability of not waking up one morning will be no higher than it was at the age of 30.

You've said you think the first person to live to 1,000 may already be alive. Could that person be you?

It's conceivable that people in my age bracket, their 40s, are young enough to benefit from these therapies. I'd give it a 30% or 40% chance. But that is not why I do this – I do this because I'm interested in saving 100,000 lives a day.

Can the planet cope with people living so long?

That's to do with the balance of birth and death rates. It didn't take us too long to lower the birth rate after we more or less eliminated infant mortality 100 or 150 years ago. I don't see that it's sensible to regard the risk of a population spike as a reason not to give people the best healthcare that we can.

[Carmody]

See the recently released book called

"The elixir of Immortality" by Robert E. Cox. Inner Traditions press, ISBN978-159477303-7

Robert, did, I repeat, Did, I repeat, Did in reality, I repeat ---- "did actually say in total truth the very specific aspects", the very critical things to know in order to actually successfully make the 'White powder of gold, and the red Powder. To make the Philosophical Mercury and the Philosophical Gold. to combine them together in the alchemical wedding, to make the manna of the gods.

From the two comes the physical power of immortality and the energy aspects of spiritual immortality and the joining of the two worlds. The bridging of the system on all levels.

As Robert said in the final points of the book, and he means it: 'May God help us all'.

For the circle is complete and the thing that was taken from us - has returned.

Our eternal lives and our ultimate conscious connection to all.

We used to have 1000 year lives, and could achieve ascension and connection ---in one life. Now we are weak, we die foolish... and not connected to the system - in the way we should be.

These are the things that were lost, and now return. Why? The time of that return has come, for now is the hour of our need.

it is a great time to be alive, it has been a long time since the moment was so momentous, so powerful. Revel in your time, for you are here, now, in this moment, this frisson, this intensity.

[zelda]

Gosh!!!! Who would like forever???? Honestly, I can only go as far as I can take care of my own necessities....When the time comes that I cannot even wipe my .........then, please someone throw me off a cliff!!! (Ok, I rather go with fashion, so I will try every extreme sport there is) LOL

[Arpheus]

We have always lived forever,its just that the vast majority of us has no recollection of it all,now to achieve that on physical level using technology without spiritual advancement of any kind,i find it very unlikely to say the least,i just dont see it happening at all...

[frank samuel]

At this moment believe it or not Cuba holds the record for having the oldest group of senior citizens alive in the world, I believe the oldest is about 135 years old, if I find the article I will post the link.I also watch a discovery program that feature an extract scientist where experimenting with made from wine taking in the form of a pill daily, according to them extended our lives beyond 150 years old. It would however be a little hard to imagine living to be 1000 years old, that's a radical idea. Maybe as we begin our journey back to the stars will begin discovering new ways to extend our physical lives if only so that we can help our souls to grow by leaps and bounds after all the function of the body as I understand it, is that it serves as a temple to house our spirit.

Many many blessings to all.:thumb:

[Ross]

Nano tech is on the increase...these lil fellas will re-boot the whole system, re-wire....live forever...for those, who have plenty of dosh and who want to stay in this body forever.

[morguana]

The only people that want to live for ever are the people that don't think they will already :)

well said john :hug:
the soul is eternal.......

[Atlas]

I don't wanna Live forever (Lyrics)
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