TED ANKARA COLLEGE / 8-P
Should We Develop Technology
Which Dramatically Expands
Our Lifespan?
Alara TENDURUS
In today’s technology scientist have found ways to prolong
the healthy lifespan of mice, worms and even monkeys. But for
now, they are suggesting that until that time we can expand our
lifespan by living healthy. Today, in the world our life expectancy
is somewhere in the 80’s. A century ago the age limit was 54.
‘’We’ve had a significant increase in lifespan over the last century,”
says Dr. Marie Bernard, deputy director of NIH’s National Institute
on Aging. So, in this quote it is trying to say that every century
we have an increase in our lifespan. One reason why that is so is
we are producing medication for diseases. In this quote “If I had
to rank behaviors in terms of priority, I’d say that exercise is the
most important thing associated with living longer and healthier,”
says Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, an NIH geriatrician who oversees research
on aging and health. So, if we pass on, what about increasing our
lifespan all the way to being immortal. Just to point out that being
ageless is not the same thing as being immortal. As a scientist
states “You can’t know if you are immortal until you live forever”.
These include cryonics, life extension drugs and treatments, and
perhaps uploading. These are ways to progress (at least) toward
being ageless. By the way did you know that lobsters are actually
immortal but they die because, as they grow, they have to shed
their exoskeletons, and eventually die of exhaustion. This is
because of an enzyme called telomerase. Well, there is no point
in digging much deeper, we will find out soon but, if you ask me if
we should develop technology for expanding our lifespan I would
say, no.
https://www.quora.com/Can-humans-become-immortal
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/06/can-you-lengthen-your-life