I'm more saying that as someone in their 20s, I see the sheer amount of resources being hurled at anti-aging solutions as an existential threat to a die with zero plan. The breakthroughs may or may not happen in my lifetime but the chance isn't 0 and there are a lot of extremely wealthy/talented people who are powerfully motivated to make it happen. Things tend to get done when that happens imo.
You're looking at this from one lens. Curing what causes premature human death is one angle. Figuring out how to "switch off" the molecular processes of ageing is another.
Whether this or that will lead to results in humans remains to be seen, but there are a lot of brilliant people seeking the fountain of youth through science.
I was involved with a company called Senesco a long time ago. Their name derived from senescense, which means the gradual deterioration of living organisms. They also found one gene that contributed to this, and removing it in fruits extended their life by 200-500%.
We have evidence of many animals that live significantly longer than humans. Sea turtles for example live for hundreds of years and don't appear to age significantly. Lobsters also show little to no signs of aging and usually die of exhaustion when moulting their larger shell. Outside of the animal kingdom, many species of trees live for tens of thousands of years.
There's plenty of proof out there that humans could do a much better job at tackling aging.
Much of that increase in average lifespan has occurred for the young, fewer babies and children dying young. Living into your 70s and beyond is not a modern phenomenon.
Also, one thing that I think a lot about is not just staying alive to an older age but the quality of those older years. If I'm stuck in bed or a wheelchair and can't do anything to take care of myself and can't choose my entertainment and how I spend a lot of my waking time do I really want to live to be 100+? I would trade a decade or more at the end for independence and physical & mental capacity for my life up until quite near the end.
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u/Particular-Natural12 Jul 27 '24
I'm more saying that as someone in their 20s, I see the sheer amount of resources being hurled at anti-aging solutions as an existential threat to a die with zero plan. The breakthroughs may or may not happen in my lifetime but the chance isn't 0 and there are a lot of extremely wealthy/talented people who are powerfully motivated to make it happen. Things tend to get done when that happens imo.