Futurist Musings on the Leap Ahead

Fight Aging!

Do you want to live a longer life in good health? Simple practices can make some difference, such as exercise or calorie restriction. But over the long haul all that really matters is progress in medicine: building new classes of therapy to repair and reverse the known root causes of aging. The sooner these treatments arrive, the more lives will be saved. Find out how to help »

From Canada.com: "Genetic science, stem-cell research and extreme caloric restriction are all part of a burgeoning 'immortality industry' that could soon point the way to a fountain of youth with the potential to stretch the human life span to 125 or 150 years, says a sociologist and consultant on future studies. ... Advances such as nanotechnology - the emerging ability to manipulate extremely small structures - could ultimately make it possible to regenerate every cell in the body ... At that point, we can throw out every idea we have about longevity and even mortality itself. ... The effects of human life-extension will be far-reaching, [potentially] spawning second or third careers in people's extra decades and a society of lifelong students using the gift of more time to continually reinvent themselves with new education. ... The extension of human life will also depend on people's lifestyle [and] the current obesity epidemic, smoking habits and other unhealthy behaviours indicate they don't always make beneficial choices. People can be 'seduced' by breakthroughs they believe will save them from themselves ... I think there is going to be a tremendous chasm between average life expectancy and life potential."

Link: http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=fa35f402-d10e-4c1e-a8c9-cc3f1cc12f92