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Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

nationalgeographic.com

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Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#61

Post by rtourn »

sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, what if it continued for hundreds of years? Where does that road lead?

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#62

Post by wholinator2 »

flqn wrote: post #49
sirobg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think medicine gave a good hit to the dragon over the years. At first only rich people beneficiated from it. But thankfully today medicine advantages are better distributed. We are not equals by any means and some countries are lagging behind, but it is better. Link to my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39080399 I have good hopes the same pattern could occur here.

Perhaps the "rising tide" takes longer to reach some than others. I hope for a more equitable, fairer future, but it's likely my outlook is somewhat jaded.

I agree, the tide analogy kinda breaks down here though. We're all familiar that it's somewhat rare that a technological advancement goes from no usage to film and wide distribution in one step. New technologies are distributed only to the rich precisely because they are time and resource intensive to develop and can only be feasibly prepared via a process which will inevitably occur costs that the majority of humans will not be able to meet. But you _need_ those first few rich people, because the money they put in starts the feedback cycle that would not be able to start otherwise. Ideally this then begins a process of optimization which gradually allows these products to become available to everyone.

Inequality is the price of innovation, but it doesn't have to be paid forever.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#63

Post by optimalsolver »

cubefox wrote: post #56
sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

Unfortunately he doesn't address overpopulation. Admittedly, birth rates are declining rapidly.

People would definitely put off having kids if they had extended lifespans.

They're already doing it with our regular lifespans.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#65

Post by D-Coder »

flqn wrote: post #37
sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

A well written fable, but its moral would not be equitable in the world of today. It's inevitable that access to "defeating the dragon" would be available to only the most affluent in society, whom have also led the most comfortable lives. There is no fairness in allowing these people to enjoy extended or indefinite lifespans whilst countless others suffer inhumane conditions only to die early.

> It's inevitable that access to "defeating the dragon" would be available to only the most affluent in society, whom have also led the most comfortable lives.

I don't see that it's inevitable at all. (a) The solution may be very affordable. (b) Any government that does not get the treatment to all citizens is likely be voted out or overthrown.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#66

Post by unsupp0rted »

rtourn wrote: post #61
sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

I wonder if people really would ossify after hundreds of years or eventually learn to be hyper-adaptable.

Current centenarians are a bad example, because their brains and bodies are falling apart.

Some sci fi suggests that the fact of our living and dying in just one century means we die as immature children.

Maybe it takes a thousand years or ten thousand years to “know thyself” to any useful degree.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#67

Post by andromeduck »

rtourn wrote: post #61
sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

This is the premise of In Time (film) too.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#68

Post by stevebmark »

If you're curious to learn more, look into cold blooded vs warm blooded animals and longevity. Cold blooded animals might give us hints to slow aging in humans.

Energy expenditure might be related to longevity. Eating more and exercising more (and the energy required to keep your core temperature up) might kill you faster, maybe through free radical production from metabolism.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#69

Post by jb1991 »

thfuran wrote: post #15
Symmetry wrote: post #10

It's not clear from the article but animals can generally live quite a bit longer than you'd expect if they continue to grow for their entire life, which is true for some types of fish. Gunk that builds up inside or between cells gets redistributed over larger areas, as do cells that become senescent. And larger size means more space for memory T cells. Those are only some aspects of aging of course.

Don't cancer rates tend to correlate positively with number of cells?

No; elephants are a good example of animals with relatively low cancer rates.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#70

Post by huytersd »

rtourn wrote: post #61
sirobg wrote: post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

Why specifically point out a sexual perversion. It seems like the least of the bad things an authority figure like a king could do.
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