An Interview With Guarente And Butler
Via the transhumantech list, an interview with researcher Lenny Guarente and Robert Butler of the International Longevity Center, folk from the longevity dividend camp: "I dont think of life span as the gold standard. The gold standard is health span. All the indicators from the laboratory are that the genes were studying and the kinds of drugs we would be developing would extend health span. If you can extend health span, and you also happen to extend life span, so be it. Thats a side benefit. ... Why does 50 percent of all cancer occur after 65? Why does 80 percent occur after age 50? As we age, there are changes at the cellular molecular level that predispose us to disease and disability. But so far, no government, no foundation, no corporation anywhere in the world has fully embraced the importance of longevity science. If we could target aging, that would have an impact on diseases." He means no foundation of massive size of course - the Methuselah Foundation is way ahead of the longevity dividend position. It is interesting to note that Guarente puts a timeline of 10-15 years on the arrival of drugs to replicate the effects of calorie restriction on healthy longevity.
Link: http://postbiota.org/pipermail/tt/2007-May/000469.html