Austad's Expectations

Via the Tyler Morning Telegraph: "At least one person alive right now may live to be at least 150 years old. That's according to Dr. Steven Austad ... It seems a little far out but within a little more than 100 years in the United States, through medical research and the advances that have taken place, we have doubled life expectancy in the United States. If it doubles again we will hit that 150 year-old mark ... Your ancestry only accounts for a small amount. It turns out if you look into it, the length of time that you live is only about 25 percent affected by your genetics. How you live your life can have an enormous impact ... reasons some opposed the notion of developing drugs to delay aging are: fear that it will only preserve maladies but won't improve the quality of life; the naturalistic argument, in which people are lead by beliefs that we are not meant to tamper with the stages of life; the drug would only be available to select people; and shortages in resources including jobs and food due to a larger, older population. ... We've already made a decision as a society that things that benefit some people as long as it does not harm other people are OK. We're not going to stop all medical advances until we can make those advances to everyone. I think the history of medicine shows that new advances do tend to spread out and it may take a while ... or most of human history, humans' lifespan has increased. ... So why stop now?"

Link: http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090314/NEWS09/903130335

Comment Submission

Post a comment; thoughtful, considered opinions are valued. New comments can be edited for a few minutes following submission. Comments incorporating ad hominem attacks, advertising, and other forms of inappropriate behavior are likely to be deleted.

Note that there is a comment feed for those who like to keep up with conversations.