[ScienceDaily]First Gene Therapy Successful Against Aging-Associated Decline: Mouse Lifespan...

And Now I WILL NEVER DIE

God damn!

Two things came to mind when I saw the title:
"Holy flipping balls! This news is incredible!"
"Wow, I wonder if I could afford one of those treatments in the future"


On a serious note:
Earth is going to be an INCREDIBLY crowded place...........

24% improvement on length of life with one treatment?

Dang science... you awesome!

Eh, I doubt it seriously will.

Edited by Tunechi - 5/15/12 at 7:11am

Thats what wars and disease are for. At our current rate, we will not be able to fight such basic things as strep throat. While improved lifespan is all that great, if we can't even live that long because companies are not researching new antibiotics then we're all doomed anyways.

Drug IMMUNE TB already exists. It's only a matter of time...

before Anyone gets excited, governments (whether its true or not) are paranoid about population growth.

for those that say the world wont be overcrowded... it already is! there will be 9 Billion people on earth in 2050. The room/energy/effort needed for farming,clean water treatment, fuels for vehicles, materials, is already been eating into the worlds resources at an alarming rate and with consequences that may tip the balance and kill quite a few people.

http://true-progress.com/the-earth-can-feed-clothe-and-house-12-billion-people-306.htm

its all about how much space and requirement is needed per person ^ sure something could come along and wipe us all out but its more likely to just take a chunk out and we will continue to grow


there is no chance on earth that anyone who isn't in the top 100 rich and powerful and nasty is going to get hold of this "treatment"



one negative side.. if the governments did allow for the increasing of life span it would go hand in hand with a renewed retirement contract .. 90 anyone

2 children per family. Sterilize felons, tax takers, obese, disabled, diseased, and drug abusers. We are not overpopulated, but its a start in the right direction.

Dont worry. Only the rich people and wealthy nations will have access. The poorer nations living in poverty, and contributing a lot to overpopulation wont have access. IIRC in most developed countries, the birth/death ratio is insanely close to one (+/- depending on country), so they will remain fairly stable.

The population of the Western world REALLY isnt that bad. I mean, remove JUST china and India and we're down about 36% - or a world population of 4.41 billion. If we just take Europe, the Americas and Oceania, we're only at 1.7 billion. That's just over the population of 1900 (1.633).

In addition, Europe, Oceania and the Americas basically hold ALL the top spots for GDP-per-capita - i.e. the population lives with the largest income, and also with the longest life span (different stats).


Yes, its horrible - but its true - I'm just pulling stats.

I do however agree that the world is WAAAYYY over what a "max" population should be. Im no expert or anything, but I'd say a global pop of about 1.5 billion would be ideal.

In theory we could say we are not over-populated, but it would require an absolutely insane amount of "if X".

IF we all switched to sustainable resources, stopped polluting, kept the population stable (i.e. ZERO increase), stopped destroying natural habitat (pro tip: trees give off Oxygen from Co2. We need that to live) and so on. It MIGHT be a valid statement. However, considering we are insanely far from that, there is no way we're "not overpopulated".




Also has anyone actually considered the problems of immortality? Lets say we ignore all the problems associated with resources, population, etc.

As you get older, each day continually makes up a lower percent of your life. Hence each day will seem very, very, very slightly shorter. If you remember back to when you were (lets say 4 or 5), you might remember how insanely long a day appeared to be. Now look at your self - a day (probably) seems fairly short. You spend a little bit of time at work (doesn't feel like THAT much provided you're happy), go home, do whatever, repeat. Its SCALING.

Now extrapolate outwards. Each day is going to get a lower and lower value for the percent of your life. Eventually a day WILL approach 0%. At that point, each day is essentially worthless. In addition, culture will evolve around you at an accelerated rate. Language will change (provided there are newer generations), as will technology, culture, etc. It would be like bringing an iPod back to the 1600s.

In addition, what happens to the brain? Sure in this scenario we've cured 'aging', but what happens to it physically over time? Does it "run out of memory"? Its a finite size so it DOES have finite storage. What is that limit? What happens when you cross it? When you get near it, to older memories start getting erased?

In addition, as you continue to live, you'll likely fear death more and more. As it is right now, death is inevitable for everyone. You accept that regardless of what you may believe. You may fear it, welcome it, ignore it, however, it does come. We see it all around us every day (check the news...). What happens when it becomes a rarity? When we are no longer exposed to it. Thousands of years ago incurable diseases, wounds, etc. were all around us. Someone might get gored by a lion (or something), and there would be nothing we could do. We would grow used to it. Now, its unimaginable.

Many 'sudden deaths' were unexplainable. Heart attacks, seizures, etc. People would literally die for absolutely no (known) reason. Again, we would grow used to it that death could strike at any time, for no reason, and it would be unpreventable. Now we know what causes these things, and how to prevent them to some degree - we also fear them far more.

So what happens when death becomes distant and strange to us? How would a society operate under those conditions?
Edited by doomlord52 - 5/15/12 at 9:23am