You'll find a patch of good commentary over at Anti-Aging Medicine & Science under the title "Perhaps, most people just don't realize that there is an alternative to the quasi-random fate that nature doles out."

Most people want to live for only a few decades. If you don't believe me take a poll of your friends and neighbors, you may be surprised at what they say.

Myself, I'm 56 years old and I have not yet experienced a fraction of the things I would like to experience in my lifetime; a trip to the Orient, SCUBA diving, hiking down to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, a week at Caesar's Palace, to samba at Carnival and viewing Earth from outer space. Naturally, money/time is my limiting factor. But what if I could live a longer healthy life? What would be the possibilities?

We make the future through our actions, as I am fond of pointing out. That future can include working anti-aging medicine that will greatly extend our healthy life spans - if we act to make it so. There are ways for anyone, no matter what their background and resources, to help make the future a better place. Donate to the Mprize for anti-aging research; visit the Longevity Meme Take Action! section; find out how you can help biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey make faster progress in his SENS initiative; start a blog like this one; talk to your friends about healthy life extension. No-one has to sit back and hope that the future of medicine will turn out well - we can all pitch in and help.