Aging researcher Leonid Gavrilov is requesting comments on a draft review of "Coping With Methuselah: The Impact of Molecular Biology on Medicine and Society." You may recall that this book was recently reviewed by Aubrey de Grey, who makes a good case for claiming that the authors are far too conservative - a view I share. Leonid Gavrilov, despite his own concerns with the state of the aging research establishment, thinks that the book occupies more of a moderate position:

This book is about the future of human lifespan, the possibility of a longevity revolution in the 21st century (significant life extension), and the social consequences of living much longer lives than we live today.

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For skeptics, who believe that this scenario represents overly optimistic wishful thinking, it may be interesting to read a recent review of this book published in the scientific journal "PLoS Biology", 2004, 2(6); 723-726 ([link]). Interestingly enough, the book is criticized in that review for being too pessimistic, and not considering opportunities for a much more dramatic life extension. Thus the scenario presented in this book is in fact a moderate vision of the future, compared to other scenarios currently discussed in the scientific literature.

If you have comments for him, go ahead and post them at Google. While it is far too conservative in scope and projections, this book (and reviews thereof) will help bring greater public understanding and support for extending the healthy human life span.

Posted by Reason at June 30, 2004 11:11 AM | TrackBack (0)