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Category: life extension – Page 626

Will increased lifespans cause overpopulation?

Overpopulation is the most common objection people make to developing rejuvenation biotechnology and potentially increasing healthy human lifespan. We take a look at why that is and if the figures support this concern.

Any discussion of rejuvenation biotechnology almost certainly includes the subject of overpopulation and that objection medical advances that directly address the various processes of aging will lead to an overpopulated world. Such dire predictions are a common theme when advances in medicine that could increase human lifespans are concerned.

Overpopulation is a word that gives the simple fact of population growth a negative connotation. It implies that an increase in the number of people will harm our lives in different ways: it might be famine, scarcity of resources, excessive population density, increased risks of infectious diseases, or harm to the environment.

This concern, first raised by the work of 18th century Reverend and scholar Thomas Malthus, has been a constant theme in both popular fiction and early foresights related to population growth. But is it actually well-founded? Let’s take a look at the issues behind these concerns from a scientific point of view.

About Michael Kramer

Can we live to 1,000? It was outrageous when he said it at ideacity in 2008… and again in 2015. Now he’s back to update us on the incredible progress that has been made toward life extension.

Michael Kramer of Zoomer Radio talks with Aubrey de Grey at ideacity 2017. Aubrey de Grey is an English author and biomedical gerontologist, currently the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation. Find out more about ideacity at http://www.ideacity.ca/ideacity-2017/

Why Life Extension is not Popular with the Public Yet

LEAF Director Elena Milova recently attended the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid and gave a talk about effective advocacy and how we can engage better with the public as advocates for rejuvenation biotechnology.

Her talk touches upon effective message delivery as well as the basic principles of teaching, known as the didactic principles.

If we can learn to master this techniques it will help us all become better advocates and champions of rejuvenation biotechnology. Her talk is available below and for those who prefer reading, there is a text version of the main points addressed during the presentation. The presentation slides used in the video are available here or here for pdf.

Liz Parrish on Therapies to Slow and Reverse the Effects of Aging

Excellent lightning round questions below the audio. Between Dune and Hitchhikers Guide, Liz is indeed a nerd.

In this episode we talk about aging. It’s a condition that everyone experiences and indeed, one thing is certain: when it comes to aging, our condition is terminal. Our guest today is challenging that and fighting aging head on. We’re speaking with Liz Parrish, the CEO of BioViva, a biotech company dedicated to advancing gene and cell therapies to treat the diseases of aging. We dive into her work and learn about the results of the treatment that she received to slow and maybe even reverse the effects of aging.

Liz is a passionate advocate for patient access to these revolutionary treatments, and a couple years ago, Liz decided to take her own medicine – literally. In September 2015, Liz underwent genetic therapy with the aim of slowing and even reversing the effects of aging. She believes that aging should be classified as a disease to open up entirely new and untapped pathways to extend human lives and allow us to be healthier, longer.

Gene therapy to treat aging as a disease. Is this something that will catch on? Should we be tinkering with our own genes in this way? If not, why not? We’re already extending the lives of animals from earthworms to mice – why shouldn’t we work to extend our own lives through applying this technology? But if we do that, will these treatments only be available to the elite and wealthy of our society, or is this something that can benefit all of society by making it available to anyone who wants it?

The Elite Want to Transfer Consciousness Into a New Body and Live Forever

A conspiracy theory article that I think is spreading semi-fake news (but it’s interesting to see how some people react to #transhumanism):

While the title of this article may sound like it belongs on a strange and dark science fiction movie, it doesn’t. Unfortunately, it seems that as the technological world continues to advance, the more the old adage ‘the truth is stranger than fiction’ becomes true.

Throughout the past year or so, we have heard Google’s leading futurist tell us that it will one day be possible to live forever. His belief is that it will start with nanobots in the human body which would work to defeat deadly disease, in place of our immune system. Kurzweil maintains that the human immune system is inadequate and that,

“Your immune system, for example, does a poor job on cancer,” he told Playboy.” It thinks cancer is you. It doesn’t treat cancer as an enemy. It also doesn’t work well on retroviruses. It doesn’t work well on things that tend to affect us later in life because it didn’t select for longevity.”

He also believes that the nanobots will enhance humanity and bring us to a point we could never have reached on our own. “We’re going to be funnier. We’re going to be sexier. We’re going to be better at expressing loving sentiment.”

Continue reading “The Elite Want to Transfer Consciousness Into a New Body and Live Forever” | >

Living ‘forever’ would cause extreme risk aversion

An article discussing why extreme risk aversion deriving from indefinite lifespans is neither very likely, nor rational.

There’s a theory suggesting that, if we could live indefinitely, we might become extremely risk-averse. Presently, regardless of when you die, you ‘only’ lose a handful of decades of life at worst, because you would have died of old age eventually anyway. However, the reasoning goes, if you could live for an indefinitely long time, your untimely death would cost you no less than eternity; the conclusion is that, in order to avoid such an unimaginable loss, people wouldn’t dare taking even the most insignificant risks, such as crossing the street, ultimately making their own lives quite miserable.

The problem with this argument is that it hinges on a flawed assumption. The assumption is that we dare taking any risks at all only because we know that in a few decades at best we’re going to be dead anyway. Why do you take a plane for a holiday at the Antipodes? Because you’re going to die anyway when you’re old. Why do you go on a rollercoaster ride? Because the reaper would get you sooner or later anyway. Why do you go out without an umbrella even though it looks like it might rain? Because pneumonia would cut your life only a few decades shorter. Note that this argument also answers the age-old question, ‘Why did the chicken cross the street?’ Because YOLO.

This is not how smart people (or chickens) think. The question is one of magnitude of benefits and risks of a certain course of action. Consider the case of John, 40 years old, taking a plane from New York to Madrid for a two-week holiday. There is a chance the plane might fall into the Atlantic Ocean during the flight, in which case John would die. The chance isn’t very big, but it’s not zero nonetheless. If the plane doesn’t fall, then John gets his holiday (the benefits); however, if the plane falls, not only does John not get his holiday, but he also loses his life. At age 40, John isn’t exactly a youngster any more, but he does have some 40 years of life left, though. While the perceived value of the holiday and the remaining 40 years of life are subjective, it is quite reasonable to say that two weeks in Madrid aren’t worth losing 40 years of life.

Didier Coeurnelle – Life Extension and Existential Risks

Another LEAF interview from the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid with Didier Coeurnelle of Heales.

LEAF director Elena Milova was recently at the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid. During the conference she caught up with life extension advocate Didier Coeurnelle.

In this interview Didier discusses his projects and shares advice to the community regarding what kind of activities can help foster progress in the development of rejuvenation biotechnology.

Didier is one of the most active members of the European life extension community, co-president of HEALES (Healthy Life Extension Society), vice-president of French Transhumanist Association Technoprog, and a founding member of the International Longevity Alliance. He is also a long-term member of the local ecology movement. Didier is currently a lawyer in a Belgian federal government agency for social security. Didier is the main organizer of the biennial scientific conference Eurosymposium on Healthy Ageing, held in Brussels, Belgium.

Love a Senior Day

I’m scheduled to give a short speech here tomorrow in Los Angeles. I’ve been told it’s a free event with fun festivities and food. My talk should be sometime between 12:30PM and 1:30PM. Join me in celebrating seniors and telling them about the importance of maximum longevity.

Free Food! Free Classic Car Show! Free Concert! Free Giveaways! Free Entertainment! Father’s Day Tribute! Veterans Tribute! Free Seminars! Surprise Special Guest!!!!!

Saturday, June 17th 2017, from 11am to 3pm at the “Expo” Ahmanson Senior Center, “Next to the LA Coliseum”, 3990 Bill Robertson Ln, Los Angeles CA 90037 - Seniors on the Move Today and Care Match America, along with many Partners, will host the first “Love a Senior Day!”

Bring your Grandparents, Mom, Dad, and Friends, to this Event! Joining us: A “Who’s Who” of caring Dignitaries, Political Leaders, your favorite Business, and amazing Senior Organizations!

LEAF Panel: How to Promote Longevity? ft. Drs. Aubrey de Grey, Alexandra Stolzing, Oliver Medvedik

On the 9th of June we teamed up with the Major Mouse Testing Program (MMTP) for a live stream longevity panel on the MMTP Facebook page. The panel included Dr. Alexandra Stolzing, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Oliver Medvedik, MMTP coordinators Steve Hill and Elena Milova, Lifespan.io President Keith Comito, and one of the most active contributors Alen Akhabaev. The event was one of the rewards from the MMTP campaign launched on Lifespan.io last year.

During the first section the panelists discuss the science and progress in the field, touching upon senescent cell therapy with senolytics, its progress and limitations, stem cells therapies and other promising interventions to slow down and potentially reverse age-related damage to health.

The second section moves to the discussion of the existing bottlenecks in advocacy, and what the members of the community can do to promote and popularize rejuvenation biotechnology among the general public more effectively.

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