Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
out various combinations of genes in specific tissues during the course of
their immortality. But, as we consider in chapter 10, replacing the process
of evolution with societal fads and the marketplace may not be so wise.
What Are the Prospects for Significant Human Age
Retardation in the Foreseeable Future?
Writers on the subject of humanity's future differ in their assessment of
the prospects for large-scale application of human age-retardation tech-
nologies. science communicator Ben Bova (1998) reflects optimism in his
topic
Immortality.
he tells readers, “The first immortals are already living
among us. you might be one of them” (1998). in contrast, age biodemogra-
phers s. Jay olshansky and Bruce Carnes (2001) conclude their topic,
The
Quest for Immortality,
by advising us that hormone injections, antioxidants,
meditation, or caloric restriction will not stop or reverse human aging. in-
stead, they offer recommendations for living out the potential life spans
we were dealt at conception: “daily vigorous exercise (30-60 minutes per
day); plenty of fruits, vegetables, and moderate amounts of low-fat protein;
a restful sleep every night; an intellectually rewarding, nonstressful job, or
no job at all; daily body massage; sex at least once a day; and a regular in-
dulgence in your favorite vice: chocolate, barbecue ribs . . . at a rate of one
or two per week for every decade lived” (olshansky and Carnes 2001, 235).
my own view is that discovering the cellular mechanisms by which ca-
loric restriction, antioxidant enhancement, gene alteration/addition, and
hormone therapy retard aging will lead to treatments that extend human
life by several decades. We ought to assume that this will happen within a
decade or so and work now to solve the moral issues associated with mod-
erate age retardation.
Conclusion
Age retardation, one approach to human life extension, slows or halts the
undesirable effects of aging. research in animals, from worms to monkeys,
shows that caloric restriction, elevating antioxidant levels, genetic manipu-
lations, and hormone therapy can retard aging. Whether these treatments
Search WWH ::
Custom Search