Who Wants to Live Forever?
While it is not uncommon for those more advanced in years to look back on their lives and observe that life has passed by much more quickly than they anticipated, there are those whose vision for the future of human existence refuses to accept the current reality of human lives spanning a mere century. Within the transhumanist camp are those who envision a possible future in which the extension of human lives to upwards of six hundred years will be the norm.
“We have long since gone beyond the moon, touched down on Mars, the moon, harnessed nuclear energy, artificially reproduced DNA, and now have the biochemical means to control birth; why should death itself, "the Last Enemy", be considered sacred and beyond conquest?” Alan Harrington
In his 2007 book entitled Ending Aging, gerontologist and transhumanist Dr. Aubrey de Grey identifies seven causes of aging. Using these causes as the impetus for an anti-aging strategy and contending that cellular damage is the consequence of metabolism, de Grey posits a seven pronged approach to radical life extension in human beings founded upon the elimination of these causes. De Grey calls his approach "Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence" or SENS.
The causes of aging as identified by Dr. de Grey are as follows:
1. AmyloSENS (extracellular junk) – Aging leads to an accumulation of junk outside of cells, the most notorious example of which is the amyloid plaque that is believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease. AmyloSENS would attempt to use the immune system to eliminate amyloid and other damaging extracellular junk.
2. ApoptoSENS (cell senescence) – Cells that become old and no longer divide (senescent cells) produce inflammatory substances that contribute to many of the diseases of aging. ApoptoSENS would eliminate senescent cells by inducing such cells to “commit suicide” (apoptosis).
3. GlycoSENS (extracellular crosslinks) – Proteins form cross-links with sugars (glycation) as tissues age. As a result of this crosslinking, tissues lose suppleness, becoming stiff and full of fibrous material. GlycoSENS seeks enzymes that will selectively breakdown these harmful crosslinks.
4. LysoSENS (intracellular junk) – Waste material of various kinds (“junk”) that is formed within cells is often broken down by a specialized organelle called the lysosome, which contains enzymes for that purpose. Unfortunately, some junk (proteins, fats, metals, etc.) cannot be broken down by normal lysosome enzymes, and this junk accumulates with age. The goal of LysoSENS is to develop and provide additional enzymes to the lysosomes that would break down more forms of junk molecules.
5. MitoSENS (mitochondrial mutations) – Mitochondria generate energy for cells, but in doing so they generate large amounts of free radicals. A prime target for these free radicals is the DNA within the mitochondria that controls mitochondrial function. MitoSENS seeks to make copies of mitochondrial DNA in the DNA of the cell nucleus, where it would be a safe distance from the damaging free radicals produced within the mitochondria.
6. OncoSENS (cancer-causing nuclear mutations/epimutations) – Most forms of cancer utilize the enzyme telomerase to maintain long telomeres (the caps of chromosomes that keep them functional). OncoSENS proposes to eliminate telomerase as a means of controlling cancer. Telomeres are needed by stem cells, but OncoSENS would replace this need by a program of tissue replacement (RepleniSENS).
7. RepleniSENS (cell loss and atrophy) – With age, cells are lost or atrophy, thereby causing tissues to stop functioning properly. RepleniSENS would utilize stem cell therapies to restore cells and tissues now.
The information above was originally published online by Life Extension Magazine and may be accessed here: https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2013/7/Interview-with-Aubrey-de-Grey-PhD/Page-01
Whatever the solutions perceived or achieved, the transhumanist agenda is driven by the desire to eliminate death as the perennial enemy of humankind.