Is it possible that science will give us eternal life?

Answer 1

The previous post, despite it's fervent effort; and not for lack of eloquence or even research, failed to even address the question at hand: Can we gain eternal life through scientific avenues.

It is possible (and as some researchers note, inevitable) for us to retain eternal life through science. Predictions lie between 20-30 years before we have a comprehensive cure for death.

There appear to be several avenues toward physical eternity; and I'll demonstrate the contributors to that cause in this article.

First, each cell in your body contains strands of DNA that determine every property you have. We're in fact 99% similar to Chimpanzees in regards to our DNA.

More to the point, a particular gene responsible for the production of an enzyme known as Telomerase; has potential to grant us lives that span centuries and even millenia (provided we aren't hit by a bus during that period).

the telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes, which protects the end of the chromosome from destruction. As the telomere becomes shorter and shorter, cells replicate less often; eventually reaching a stage referred to as the "Hayflick limit," a point at which a cell can no longer replicate. Growing old is directly associated with the shortening of our telomeres.

Telomeres are the treasure chests of life. Not only do they keep cells replicating, studies have indicated that shorter telomeres actually increase your risk of disease.

A study of 60 to 75 year olds showed that patients with shorter telomeres had a 300% higher death rate from Heart disease, and an 800% higher chance of death from Infectious Diseases.

One of the most important groupings of letters and numbers that will grace humanity in it's period of scientific ascension is called "TA-65," a therapy that lengthens telomeres.(1) With TA-65, it's possible to replenish telomeres as well as reverse the decay that occurs during cell division.

Along with breakthroughs regarding the manipulation of these telomeres, advances in medical technology are leading to the cures for cancer. There are multiple treatments currently in FDA clinical trials that show great promise:

- A new technology involving blasting cancer cells with radio waves (which are harmless to humans) has been very successful and has researchers excited at the prospects. FDA animals trails have proven 100% successful, curing all malignant cancers.

- Cancer resistant mice have been important in determining how to become cancer-free; involving transfusing granulocytes; a kind of white blood cell, which has shown amazing promise towards curing cancer. Basically they take healthy granulocytes from one mouse and transfuse them into cancerous mice. This treatment has also proven 100% effective in clinical trials on animals.

Moving past the imminent breakthroughs involving cancer and telomerase; there are many life-improving technologies that are breaking the surface. Using silicon and microtechnology, the replication of organs and tissue has become possible and is now even in use in the United States. It's possible to actually build organs; which could eventually render transplant lists null.

Further, advances in Nanotechnology have inspired optimism for nanobots which could flow through the blood stream and destroy deposits of plaque or dangerous cells.

To conclude, the inevitability of eternal life through science is upon us. Actually if you're willing to pay almost seven thousands dollars twice a year, you could probably live forever.

Of course as the commercial demand for the live-forever product increases, the price will invariably go down as the volume of consumption will be massive.

The breakthroughs witnessed at this point in history will define humanity for the remainder of it's presence in the universe. If you've ever wondered where we are headed, whether we'd colonize mars, or travel to another solar system... You have the oppurtunity to wait thousands of years to witness it.