ANATOMY AND EVOLUTION
“This century
we’re going
to see vast
modifications
in biological
organisms…
genetic
manipulation,
stem cell
technology,
nanotechnology.”
PHOTO
Dr Arthur Saniotis
HOW FAR
CAN WE GO?
HUMANS ARE ALWAYS PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES, FROM
EXPLORING SPACE TO DOUBLING OUR LIFESPAN IN JUST
SIX GENERATIONS.
“The 20th century was the age of physics. The 21st
century is the age of biology.”
That’s according to Dr Arthur Saniotis, lecturer in
human anatomy and evolution in the University’s School
of Medicine.
Dr Saniotis is a self-confessed futurist who applies his
thinking to key issues facing humankind, and the factors
that will shape our evolution as a species. Issues such
as: can we continue to push the human lifespan further
by decades, even centuries? And what will it take to get
humans to safely travel to Mars, and beyond?
“The two issues are uniquely linked in many ways.
Biology is a key part of the story but technology also has
a huge role to play,” Dr Saniotis says.
“As a species, we’ve been modifying ourselves since the
beginning. When we created fire, it was a modification to
who we were and what we were capable of. Tool making
is a hallmark of our species, as is language, and both
of these things have resulted in a range of physical and
cognitive adaptations that have made us who we are
today,” he says.
10
ADELAIDEAN
“This century we’re going to see vast modifications
in biological organisms, such as through genetic
manipulation, stem cell technology, nanotechnology.
The scope of medicine and health services is
changing from being focused on saving people’s lives to
altering people.”
The current life expectancy for Australians is 85 years for
women and 83 for men. How possible is it for humans
to keep pushing the limits of our lifespan? Can we
ever expect to live to 1000? Dr Saniotis doesn’t think a
“millennial human” is within our reach, but he says people
might conceivably be able to live for hundreds of years.
“Prior to the Industrial Revolution not as many people
lived beyond 60 years of age. In 1850, the average life
expectancy was 40 years. Today, that life expectancy
is doubled and there are now tens of thousands of
people in the world who live beyond 100 years. In Japan
alone there are about 60,000 centenarians, which is an
incredible number,” Dr Saniotis says.
“Since the mid 20th century, we’ve given people in the
developed world 20-30 years of extra life. This is quite
miraculous, and it’s occurred within a relatively short time
in human history.”