Could We Engineer an End to Aging?
“Aging is an “entirely chemical, non-mystical process of degradation with specific physical causes,” and a research group has now identified “the seven deadly things” which cause aging. So could scientists engineer an end to aging itself?
Biologists already believe one animal is immortal — the freshwater microscopic Hydras. (”Apparently, the challenges of indefinite tissue regeneration are simple enough for such a small organism that nature has solved them.”) Turtle organs show no sign of aging — Charles Darwin’s tortoise Harriet lived for 175 years, and Discover magazine believes it’s possible that turtles could also live forever!
It’s called “negligible senescence,” and in this article, which was featured in the fall issue of Humanity-plus magazine, the science writer reaches one final conclusion: “sign me up.
