But aging, followed by death, is important. And not just for the biological evolution, but also for social progress. Besides, lifespan is measured not in years or the total length of the spaghetti consumed but in memories and accomplishments. So, I am not sure what exactly is the point of trying to extend human biological lifespan. There were people that in 30 years had accomplished more than other would not be able to in however many years would have been given to them.
Age Reduction Breakthrough?
151–160 of 426 posts
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#152Since it seems like the upshot of all of this is that Katcher is claiming to have discovered a set of signalling molecules which, when injected, rejuvenate tissue and presumably lengthen life, it runs into one of the most fundamental objections that can be leveled at theory of aging (or cure thereof): of the billions of humans that have existed, how is it that none of them have possessed a mutation which (in this cas…
At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…
That artist that survived both the Spanish Flu and COVID is 107.
Go take a look at her photo.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#153But aging, followed by death, is important. And not just for the biological evolution, but also for social progress. Besides, lifespan is measured not in years or the total length of the spaghetti consumed but in memories and accomplishments. So, I am not sure what exactly is the point of trying to extend human biological lifespan. There were people that in 30 years had accomplished more than other would not be able…
It seems important to our current society because it is a pillar, or a given, to how society runs today. It is almost impossible to imagine a society without aging. If/when that day arrives, I am sure it will seem a lot less important.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not targeting you. It targeted at dumbasses with cash who are scared of dying.
What's wrong with not wanting to die?
You ask a valid question.
Not wanting to die is fine, I think more importantly, not wanting to age and gradually become a burden towards end of life is also natural. Not wanting to be lost and missed (nevertheless hoping that you've done well enough to be missed). The idea of being bedridden and helpless is more scary to me than death.
But not wanting to die __ever__ can be driven by narcissism. If no one dies or gets old then we never make way for the next generation. If the cure is widespread you get overpopulation, if it is limited you get a class divide, never aging fantastically rich immortals and a semi-permanent underclass. Neither seems fantastic. What are the rules? Do you give something up to be in your 20s forever?
Generational change seems like a strong force for good in a lot of ways, to me at least. It can be harder to rewire a neural network than it is to start fresh.
Note that any non-magical intervention will likely be 'increasing longevity' not granting immortality. And even if that were the case, there's always the heat death of the universe. There's no escape from reality closing, you'd probably have a difficult time sustaining biological life-forms long before the universe is dark and cold. I doubt it would be pleasant. What is the storage limit for a brain anyway?
Personally I find some cold comfort that everything I do is meaningless and will be forgotten. I will once rest and be gone. So will everything.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the headline was "universal cure for cancer found!", would you also say "I'm missing the good news"?
Except it's nothing like "universal cure of cancer" so what's your point?
It's "universal cure for aging", which, since aging causes death, is even better than "universal cure for cancer"...
... at least, that's what it says. Whether it works at all, and whether it works indefinitely, are still TBD. But again, the same would be true of a claimed universal cure for cancer.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the bible does talk about people who lived for thousands of years I don't remember anyone mentioned living for _thousands_ of years. There are plenty of characters that live for hundreds, though. It is believed that Abraham lived to the age of 175, while I believe there was one character that lived into the 300's, but I do not recall their name. It has been a while since I delved into the old testament.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah > Said to have died at the age of 969, he lived the longest of all figures mentioned in the Bible.
that name rings a bell now that I see it. thanks!
edit: Found it on the wikipedia page you linked. I was thinking about Enoch, Methuselah's father, who lived to be 365 years old according to the bible.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the bible does talk about people who lived for thousands of years I don't remember anyone mentioned living for _thousands_ of years. There are plenty of characters that live for hundreds, though. It is believed that Abraham lived to the age of 175, while I believe there was one character that lived into the 300's, but I do not recall their name. It has been a while since I delved into the old testament.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah > Said to have died at the age of 969, he lived the longest of all figures mentioned in the Bible.
Interestingly, Methuselah died the same year that the Flood happened, so you might assume he would have lived longer had his grandson not been instructed to build a party boat that he wasn't invited to...
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#158Since it seems like the upshot of all of this is that Katcher is claiming to have discovered a set of signalling molecules which, when injected, rejuvenate tissue and presumably lengthen life, it runs into one of the most fundamental objections that can be leveled at theory of aging (or cure thereof): of the billions of humans that have existed, how is it that none of them have possessed a mutation which (in this cas…
To put it simply, a population with aging is more fit than a population without. The speed at which beneficial mutations in a population reach saturation in the gene pool is a function of the number of generations that have gone by. So we can expect some downward selective pressure on lifespan.
At that point you are getting into some of the same reward dynamics that you see with honesty in intra-species signaling. Particularly that an organism in a population may wish to signal honestly even if it knows it is unfit so that the overall population health can improve. From what I recall, many evolutionary biologists disliked the hypothesis, instead preferring the costly signaling theory as an explanation of why signals remain honest.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#159Since it seems like the upshot of all of this is that Katcher is claiming to have discovered a set of signalling molecules which, when injected, rejuvenate tissue and presumably lengthen life, it runs into one of the most fundamental objections that can be leveled at theory of aging (or cure thereof): of the billions of humans that have existed, how is it that none of them have possessed a mutation which (in this cas…
There are tons of reasons this wouldn’t have happened. Lots of this is speculation but: Seems likely this is a gradient, not a binary thing, so perhaps someone with a beneficial mutation would just live a little longer. There’s not a ton of evolutionary pressure at the old age side of the spectrum, you’re not reproducing a lot, so it may not get picked up. Wilder speculation: it could be that indeed this has been hap…
I would be very careful about trusting research on supercentenarians. There is a substantial amount of evidence (https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2019/08/06/are-superc...) that a significant number of "supercentenarians" are simply pension/tax frauds taking up the names of dead people to keep collecting pensions.
Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…
Given how much people focus on looking youthful, it's probably reasonable to assume that appearing youthful has historically been advantageous, from a reproductive point of view. Which would lead such a mutation to spread pretty rapidly throughout the population.
Probably confounded by the social dynamics of human groups. There also isn't any evidence that it would extend reproductive lifespan either.