From In Search of Enlightenment:
The inborn aging process is now the major risk factor for disease and death after around age 28 in the developed countries...
Aging is not immutable. The lifespan of organisms such as worms, flies, and mice can be extended by restricting food intake.
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Despite the fact that the vast majority of the world's 6.5+ population will die from age-related causes, aging research is underfunded.
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Even a modest deceleration in human aging could be this century’s most important medical intervention. Furthermore, there is a sound scientific basis for believing this could be achieved. We are closer to this goal than we are to eliminating cancer or heart disease. Furthermore, age retardation could yield health dividends far greater than those that would be achieved by the elimination of any specific disease of aging.
Despite the fact that progress is very visible in advocacy for longevity science, members of the healthy life extension community can't go far wrong in continuing to hit on the basic concepts - like those expressed above.
- Aging isn't written in stone: it can be addressed by future medical science
- Living longer means living in good health for longer, not being older for longer
- Longevity science is plausible and underway, but very underfunded
- We could live much longer in good health, but we have to work to make that goal a reality
It is still the case that comparatively few people think this way, or realize the potential of the next few decades for engineered human longevity. Much more public support, fundraising, and applied medical research will be required to realize this potential - which all starts with a large number of people saying "I want to see this come to pass."