X-Message-Number: 21401 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: Ageing research sees the light at the end of the tunnel Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 09:12:07 -0800 http://www.transhumanism.com/articles_more.php?id=138_0_4_0 Ageing research sees the light at the end of the tunnel Eduardo Martinez, March 14, 2003 Perspectives of increased longevity, and even immortality, trigger debate in the scientific community By Eduardo Martinez de la Fe, translated from Spanish and abridged by G.P. In a remarkable report, Science Magazine unveils the status of ageing research and warns of possible social consequences. Recent discoveries take us closer to increased longevity, and perhaps even immortality, while society is not yet prepared for such changes. The original of this review appeared on Tendencias Cientificas, a Spanish language magazine dedicated to popularising advances in science, technology and society with a transhumanist perspective. According to this week s issue of Science Magazine, anti-ageing researchers now see the light at the end of the tunnel after more than 20 years of relentless work in many fields. In this exciting time, there have been many advances toward finally determining the biological and genetic roots of the ageing process. Geneticists have discovered that teleomeres, molecular structures that cap chromosomes and prevent damage to DNA, are subject to age-related deterioration. Specific genes associated with longevity have been discovered and catalogued. Biologists have identified age-related cellular oxidation processes that lead to damage and reduced efficiency. Despite these advances, there are still large gaps in our knowledge. Scientists do not yet know the factors leading to age-related degradation of teleomeres, nor whether is is possible to prevent cellular oxidation. Several studies have demonstrated reducing the caloric intake of mice and worms changes genetic expressions, improves resistance to stress and increases life expectancy. This is due to the fact that the concentration of glucose, and the concentration of a growth factor related to insuline, decrease significantly in animals that are forced to eat less. Indeed, caloric reduction has been demonstrated to weaken cancer growth and biological degradation. Research Applicable to Human Longevity This knowledge can be applied to human beings, but not necessarily by limiting food intake in the first 75 years of life. Instead, drugs would be developed to regulate the concentrations of glucose and growth factor. Such drugs would emulate the effects of caloric restriction at a cellular level, without requiring the adoption of a dietary regime throughout one s life. With regard to genetic investigation, it is already known that the activation and deactivation of specific genes play an important role in the ageing process. Oxygen also plays a fundamental role in age-related degradation by triggering cellular oxidation. Of course, since oxygen is so fundamentally related to the continuation of life, it is not yet known how to avoid its effects on the ageing process. The ageing issue, as it goes, is not confined to the scientific and technical domains of biology and genetics. Rather, it represents an important social and ethical concern. At this time it is not clear whether the final objectives of ageing research are limited to slowing the ageing process, or include the greater goal of achieving physical immortality through future medical advances. Public Good? In this regard, Science Magazine asks if, besides providing less controversial benefits of ageing research such as improved health for senior citizens, science should also push on to fight and eventually stop the biological degradation process itself, leading to increased longevity and eventually immortality. In the opinion of the authors, this should be based on policy decisions on whether or not it would represent a public good. Doubts arise because anti-ageing treatments will not be, at least for a long time, affordable for everyone. Thus their availability will constitute a de-facto social discrimination. It should be noted however that this also applies to heart surgery and nearly every other complex medical technology. Moreover, if anti-ageing treatments ever become universally affordable, they may create other social problems due to the suppression of the natural processes that regulate demographic pressure on the natural habitat. It remains to be seen, however, what would be the relative impact of this factor on global demographic issues. These social issues are already being actively discussed by the scientific community. This confirms the diagnosis proposed by Science Magazine: anti-ageing research that will eventually increase longevity and even achieve immortality has already reached the end of the tunnel. Society is not yet prepared for the coming developments. Links: Spanish original, Tendencias Cientificas: http://tendencias21.net/index.php3?action=page&id_art=21559 Science Magazine article: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/299/5611/1339 _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21401