The experimental drug ALT-711 is in Phase IIb trials and so far shows great promise. If it is ever approved, it will be marketed as a hypertension drug - although in fact, it would be the first anti-aging drug in human history. It breaks protein cross-links i.e. it removes hardening of arteries, age-breakdown of muscles, and.....possibly wrinkles in skin. (Alteon Co.)
Eukarion is developing synthetic antioxidants that showed a 50% increase in lifespan of simpler organisms. Mice tests are underway. The cellular mechanisms involved would appear to apply to any living creature.
Thank god! I'm approaching the weary age of 23 and was hoping something would arrive soon to save me from my athritis and wrinkling and liver spots soon!
But seriously, I think it will be very cool. What if they somehow find a way to allow us to stage in a perpetual 25 or so age forever? Wouldn't the value of human life be dramtically increased for more people once they realize they could last for hundreds of years?
It will change everything. The earth will become completely overpopulated, ecosystems will collapse, but we'll get to live to be 200, yippeeeee.
Humancentric thinking disgusts me utterly. The only thing of any value is human life, so lets keep pumping the kids out and hey, lets live an unnaturally long time too. The rest of the natural world will just have to MAKE WAY FOR US.
Joel I think you make a good point, however I don't think that anti-aging medicine alone is to blame. Scientific research can be done ecologically.
"It is not so much that you use your mind wrongly--you usually don't use it at all. It uses you. This is the disease." -Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
There's a correlation in societies between life span and having kids. Increase life span and people stop having so many children.
You got the psychology backwards, Removing mortality makes ecology and everything else better. Living longer makes people less likely to trash the planet - without mortality breathing down your back, you can take the long view.
