The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Mprize: Your Children Could Be Immortal

Comments

by Aaron Saenz on October 6th, 2009
Will scientific advancements in treating aging let our children eventually live forever?

Will scientific advancements in treating aging let our children eventually live forever?

If living forever isn’t enough motivation to get scientists to study longevity, maybe $3.8 million will work instead. That’s the current size of the Mprize, a special fund put forth by the Methuselah Foundation that seeks to encourage research into extending healthy human life. The prize is awarded to those scientists who can increase the lifespan of lab mice in the hopes that work performed on that species can be readily applied to humans. Can we live longer? Do we even want to? When will the average human life expectancy start to increase by more than a year each year? The Methuselah Foundation’s answers are yes, yes, and much sooner than you might think. Check out Aubrey De Grey’s discussion of longevity at TED 2005 in the video after the break. He’s very enthusiastic to say the least.

The history of offering a cash prize to help motivate research has a long and successful history. Mariners were finally able to determine their longitude at sea thanks to the aptly named Longitude Prize offered by the British government. Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight was in direct response to the Orteig prize. The modern day Xprize is inspiring new achievements in genomics, space flight, lunar exploration, and transportation efficiency. With the Mprize, the Methuselah Foundation may very well bring about a surge in the interest in increasing human lifespans within the next generation. As Aubrey De Grey points out, once human lifespans start increasing by an appreciable amount, further medical developments will occur during that lifespan increasing it even farther. We could eventually reach a sort of lifespan escape velocity and reach immortality. De Grey has since coined the concept as the Methuselarity. Catchy, huh?
Read More

CDC Report: Americans Living Longer, But Not As Long as Everyone Else

Comments

by Aaron Saenz on August 26th, 2009

With the ongoing health care debate raging across the US, it’s good to know that we lived slightly longer in 2007 than in 2006. According to a report released on August 19th by the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, Americans reached a new peak in lifespan: 77.9 years. In fact, the last decade has given us a 1.4 year increase in our age at death. Yep, US citizens are living longer than they were just a few years ago, but they still aren’t living as long as almost any other developed country. How can we be getting better but still be lagging behind?

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) We aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) Why aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Almost half of all deaths (48.5%) in this country are due to heart disease or cancer. The overall death rates for stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer fell between 2006 and 2007, and lifespan rose as a result. It’s clear that those two culprits are what is keeping the US from the longevity it might otherwise have.

And longevity means a lot to us here at the hub. We’ve shown you surgical advances, and promising medical developments. We’ve given you a look at some of the oldest people in the world, and some of the healthiest places in the world. The one thing we’ve learned through it all is that the secret to a long life is really, really simple: lifestyle.

Read More

Blue Zones – Places In the World Where People Live to 100 and Stay Healthy

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 20th, 2009

They are called blue zones – places in the world where people live longer and healthier than anywhere else on earth.  Several of these blue zones exist, and in each of these places people living to 90 or even 100 years is common.  And they aren’t just living long either – these people are living healthy – without medication or disability (see video later in this post).

blue-zones

Lead Photo For National Geographic Feature Story On Blue Zones

Five blue zones have so far been identified and thoroughly researched by journalist Dan Buettner in a partnership with National Geographic during more than five years of on-site investigation.  So what is the secret to longevity and health underlying these fascinating communities?  Do they possess modern technology, do they take massive amounts of supplements, do they run on treadmills, do they have special genes?  As you may have guessed, the answer is none of these.

The five blue zones are as follows:

  • The Italian island of Sardinia
  • Okinawa, Japan
  • Loma Linda, California
  • Costa Rica’s isolated Nicoya Peninsula
  • Ikaria, an isolated Greek island

Its Lifestyle, Stupid!

So lets cut to the chase instead of building up the suspense any further.  After more than five years of investigation, what has Buettner discovered about why people in these places are living so long?  The secret is lifestyle.  Quite simply, these people live a lifestyle that includes a healthy diet, daily exercise,  and a low stress life that incorporates family, purpose, religion, and meaning.  Sure we can go into more detail, and we will, but at a high level it really is this simple.   Check out this video:

Read More

Just Like That, Sakhan Dosova No Longer World’s Oldest Person

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on May 18th, 2009
sakhan_dosova_oldest_person

Was This woman Really 130 Years Old?

Last month we wrote about Sakhan Dosova, a woman from Kazakhstan who created a sensation when it was revealed that she might be 130 years old, easily making her the world’s oldest person.  Now, in one of life’s strange twists of irony, Sakhan Dosova has apparently broken her hip and died after a freak fall in her new flat.  With the death of Sakhan Dosova, American woman Gertrude Baines once again takes the reigns as the world’s oldest living person at 115.

Before her recent stardom Dosova apparently lived a simple life, eating simple foods, rarely seeking medical treatment, and avoiding many of the trappings of modern society.  But after Dosova’s age was revealed a few months ago and she became a world sensation all this changed.  The Daily Mail reported that Sakhan Dosova was recently given a new flat by officials in Kazakhstan who were embarrassed that the country’s overnight celebrity was living in overcrowded conditions with her impoverished family.  It sure is ironic to think that Dosova’s death may have been ushered in at least partly by her sudden departure from the simple life that had served her well for so many years.

Read More

Freezing Lazarus: The Cryonics of Eternal Life

Comments

by Drew Halley on April 17th, 2009
Photo courtesy of Alcor

This bigfoot Dewar is custom designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius. Photo courtesy Alcor

Want to live forever? You’re not alone. For as long as we humans have contemplated our own mortality, the dream of eternal life has not been far behind. We see it reflected in our mythologies, religions, and cultural traditions, whether through a fountain of youth or an immortal soul in heaven. But the dream of cheating death has recently made the jump from superstition to science. Welcome to the world of cryopreservation.

Cryonics is the preservation of a body at low temperatures following legal “death,” with the expectation that future technologies will allow the resuscitation of the individual. The technique has reached the popular imagination through a mix of Hollywood portrayals (e.g. Austin Powers) and urban legends (sorry, but Walt Disney was actually cremated). Singularity enthusiasts hope that death will be but a long nap, and dream they might awaken to a futuristic afterlife here on Earth. But how much of this is science, how much is hype, and how much is faith? To find out, we’ve surveyed the landscape of cryonics today.

The logic of cryopreservation goes something like this. The medical definition of “death” has changed throughout history as new technologies became available. A century ago, people were considered dead if their heart had stopped beating. Today, lives are routinely saved through the use of a defibrillator shortly after a heart attack, even after a few minutes of cardiac arrest. Cancer was once a death sentence, and now people survive it regularly.  How we define death is a function of the technology at our disposal.

Read More

Life Extension Revealed

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on March 25th, 2009

Didn’t have the time or the interest to watch Oprah’s Extreme Life Extension Show that aired on TV yesterday?  Luckily for you Singularity Hub is here with a review of the show that you won’t want to miss!  Although going into this we were skeptical that the show would provide any great value to longevity enthusiasts, after watching it we have to admit the show was totally awesome. Below is a 30 second promo/highlight reel for the show:

Within the show there is one takeaway, more than anything else, that is absolutely crystal clear:

The single best thing you can do to live longer and healthier is to eat right and excercise.  Period.

Anyone who has put even the slightest effort into researching life extension is already aware of the benefits of eating right and exercising, but the Oprah show adds value by reinforcing this truth.  As much as we may want it to be otherwise, but at least for the next ten years or so there is no magic pill or surgery that will radically change your health as much as a simple regiment of eating right and exercising.

fruit_vegetablesIn a revealing quote, billionaire and life extension pioneer David Murdock tells Oprah “after my wife was diagnosed with cancer I searched all over the world to find a cure, and the more doctors we talked to, the more I realized that we simply were not eating right.”

So what does eating right mean anyway?  After watching the Oprah show, reading Kurzweil’s book Fantastic Voyage, and after following an avalanche of research and studies such as this one, the evidence is overwhelming: eat lots of fruits and vegetables, minimize consumption of red meat, saturated fat, sugar, and cholesterol.

We could go into more detail, but at a high level it really is that simple.  Your body is a living machine.  If you consume a diet of junk then you will steadily destroy your body.  If instead you consume a diet that is full of nutrients and low on the toxic stuff, then your body will maintain its vitality.

In addition to eating right, you need to exercise.  Exercising has too many benefits to list, but some of the major benefits are lower blood pressure, healthier arteries and heart, and the reduction of toxins in the body.

Lets take a look at each segment of the show:

Read More

Silicon Valley’s Transhumanist Movement Uncovered

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on January 19th, 2009

transhumanist transhumanismDavid Gelles from The Futurist has written a very detailed piece that describes Silicon Valley as the epicenter of a worldwide transhumanist movement.  Gelles’ article is neither pro nor anti transhumanist, but instead is focused on telling us about the history and the players that have shaped this movement from past to present.  The article is a crash course for anyone interested in learning what the transhumanist movement is and who is involved.

At a whopping 20 pages, you really have to be interested in transhumanism to sludge through this article.  For those who don’t want to read the whole thing, here is my take on a short summary:

With an ample supply of wealthy people equipped with strong technical backgrounds and an open mind to new ideas, the transhumanist movement has naturally found its home in Silicon Valley.  Recent advances in technology have taken transhumanist ideas such as radical life extension, immortality, brain uploading and copying, and biological or machine based body enhancement from the realm of crazy to the realm of possible.

Large numbers of smart, successful silicon valley players are joining a transhumanist movement that holds both great promise and great peril for mankind.  Some see transhumanists as forward thinkers at the forefront of change, while others see them as borderline religious fanatics attached to ideas that are dangerous and/or ridiculous.

Major players in the movement are mentioned, including:

Peter Thiel – co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, multi-million dollar donor to transhumanist causes

Robert Ettinger – “The Father of Cryonics”, founder of the Cryonics Institute, Author of famous Immortality Books

Aubrey De Grey – Founder of Methuselah Foundation, pioneer in the science of fighting aging

Ralph Merkle – pioneer in cryptography, researcher and speaker on nanotechnology and cryonics

James Clement – Executive Director of the World Transhumanist Association

Organizations are covered, including the World Transhumanist Association, Alcor Foundation, Foresight Nanotech Institute, Extropy Institute, Methuselah Foundation, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

image source

Researchers Stop Decline In Organ Function Associated With Old Age

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on August 18th, 2008

As humans age the systems in our cells for cleaning up unwanted proteins and other debris become less efficient. It is theorized that junk in our cells thus accumulates, leading to further deterioration in the health and function of our cells, ultimately leading to disease and aging.

Medical News Today reports that researchers have added support to this theory with the dramatic reduction of the aging of an entire organ in a mouse – the liver – by genetically enhancing the ability of cells in the liver to clean up the toxic accumulation of their cellular junk. From the article:

“When the mice were examined at 22 to 26 months of age (equivalent to
approximately 80 years old in humans), the liver cells of transgenic
mice digested and recycled protein far more efficiently than in their
normal counterparts of the same age – and, in fact, just as efficiently
as in normal six-month old mice.”

World’s Oldest Person?

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 27th, 2008

I recently stumbled upon some articles on the oldest people alive and thought it would be interesting to post this information here at singularity hub:

The oldest person alive today (that can be verified against reasonable doubt) is Edna Parker, who turned 115 years old in April 2008. An interesting quote from the article:

“She has outlived both of her sons, and is one of 75 human beings in the world who have lived past the age of 110 years.”

Mariam Amash in Israel claims to be the oldest person alive at 120 years, but her age has not been confirmed reliably.

Wikipedia appears to have good information on the records for world’s oldest people. Jeanne Calment, who passed away in 1997, currently holds the record for longest documented lifespan at 122 years.

A supercentenarian is a person who has reached the age of 110 years or more, something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians (based on European data). Furthermore, only 2% of supercentenarians live to be 115.

Picture from wickedlocal.com

Living past 100 years with anti-aging genes

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 20th, 2008

Two separate projects are both analyzing the genes of healthy, old (90 or even 100 years) people to see if they have genes in common that may be responsible for enabling their longevity.

Technology Review reports that Eric Topol leads the Genomic Medicine Program at the Scripps Translational Science Institute that is collecting blood samples from 1,000 people age 80 or older who have never suffered any serious illnesses and do not take medication. From the article:

“These people have genetic susceptibility markers for many serious diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes, but they don’t get any of these diseases,” says Eric Topol’”

“Sequencing allows researchers to determine if healthy older people are more likely to carry [genetic] variations that either make protective factors function more efficiently or hinder the activity of harmful factors.”

From this same report we also learn of the Longevity Genes Project which is also searching for longevity genes, but they are using microarray analysis instead of direct gene sequencing.

Picture from Longevity Genes Project website

ORlive – online repository of webcasts and videos of live surgeries

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 17th, 2008

I just stumbled upon an incredible site called OR-live.com where you can witness live video of the latest surgical procedures. This is an excellent resource for researching and understanding how the medical field is saving lives and helping people to live longer and healthier. A few of my favorites below (warning: these videos may be hard for some people to watch):

Robotic Hysterectomy for Endometrial Cancer

Cochlear Implant Restores Partial Hearing to Completely Deaf Patient

Video of Real Heart Transplant Procedure

picture of heart transplant in action!

IEEE special report on the singularity

Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 16th, 2008

IEEE produced a special report on the singularity in its June 2008 issue located here:

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/singularity

This is a comprehensive report, representing many diverse views about the singularity from a selection of tech luminaries and scholars in singularity related fields. It is a must read if you are at all interested in the singularity. In a few separate posts I will be highlighting some of the cool insights to be found within this report.

Image from the cover of the report
« Older Entries