Live to 200 years, people will be like?

Science will turn people's longevity aspirations into reality. If that happens, what will be the consequence?

Last year, Te chnology Review published the SENS Chal award for $ 20,000 for any scientist who demonstrated the ability to control aging. And the Methuselah Foundation also has a $ 3.5 million M-Prize award for those who can slow down or upset the effects of aging .

There are 5 research teams registered to join the SENS Challenge, but only 3 teams are satisfied

Aubrey de Gray molecular biology specialist
(Photo: sens.org)

demand for deadlines, including influential names for world science and technology such as J. Craig Venter and Nathan Myhrvold . Finally, because there are no winners, only half The prize worth $ 10,000 was awarded as a " gift " for J. Estep and colleagues at the New York Geriatric Center for " serious and sincere efforts " .

Hygiene . cells

After not very bright start, some scientists said that in the end, people will have access to longevity, if not infinite, at least it will last . several decades. This ability does not come from drinking recycled water or miraculous metabolites, but from scientific awareness of how aging affects our bodies at the molecular and cellular levels.

For example, the seven-part plan of molecular biologist Aubrey de Gray at the French Academy of Sciences, to modify and prevent genital and cell-related aging injuries, including including the elimination of mutations leading to cancer and age-related diseases, especially . sterilization of aging proteins that accumulate in cells . And, genetic binding strategies or techniques to mimic the effects of energy restriction have shown positive signs on fruits, worms and lab rats. Many scientists now believe that one day, humans will live normally to 140 years or more .

Double life expectancy

If scientists can create the first pill that allows people to live to . 200 years old, do you use it? The answer is certainly yes - of course, with old age conditions, there is no sickness or disease. But many researchers think that you are too selfish. However, what society needs is not from people with double life expectancy. So the problem went back to the workshop on Kronos longevity science organized in Arizona two years ago.

According to director Gregory Stock of the UCLA's School of Public Health Health, Technology and Social Program, the answer to this problem is definitely yes. ' Double lifespan will give us the opportunity to redo mistakes, bring us to longer-term strategies and significantly reduce spending on health care by delaying the start of diseases caused by aging. That may also increase labor productivity thanks to more healthy years . "

Biochemist Daniel Callahan (Photo: thefutureoflife) Meanwhile, bioethics Daniel Callahan, co-founder of the Hastings Center in New York, doesn't share his views with Stock. He said that prolonging life will not solve any problems of today's society. ' We are facing war, poverty and many other problems of modern society, all of which cannot be solved by making people live longer. The essential problem is what society will get when there are so many old people . '. And, others have pointed out that doubling the life expectancy will greatly affect society on many levels, such as marriage, family and work life will fundamentally change, including multi-faceted impact on youth and the elderly .

Marriage family

The first person to be concerned about the social impacts of longevity is Richard Kalish, a psychologist. He said that living longer will radically change the way we view marriage. Currently, a couple at the age of 50 or 60 tries to live with a dishonest love, and may continue to endure for another 15-20 years.

But if they knew they would have to live in prison for another 60 or 80 years, the choice would definitely be . ' everyone's way ' . Kalish predicted that as life increased Sometimes, there will be changes in the importance of marriage as a ' long-term contract standard ' of future family life when couples commit to living together for a long time. And, ' flashy marriages ' will also be very popular .

' Double life will also reshape the family concept in other ways - Chris Hackler, head of the Humanitarian Health Division of the University of Arkansas, said. If multi-married status becomes as popular as Kalish's forecast and each couple will have many children, then the tension between siblings will become more common. In particular, if the couple continues the current trend of having a child starting at the age of 20-30, then there will be 8 or 10 generations living together in a cramped family . '.

Moreover, if extending the life expectancy will increase the reproductive age of women, and so many new born babies have brothers and sisters 40 or 50 years old. ' If we are 100 years younger than our parents and children younger than 60 years old, we will certainly make significant differences in social relations ' - Hackler wrote in PNSA.

And work

Living longer will certainly make more sense when we have more time for work, more dedication to our careers and the retirement age will also be extended, but the problem of social security will how?

' If your company has employees who take care of the job . 100 years, the working environment will be harsh for young people in the promotion ' - Callahan explains. He also said that companies and universities could be dominated by some old individuals if these employees, managers and professors refused to leave their positions.

Without the succession of young talents and ideas, the work in these places can be stagnant and stagnant and will face the lag . And, Hackler also points out that the issues are similar. Self-related politics will also arise. What happens when some individuals continue to hold power until the end of their lives ?!

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