# Reversing aging... within sight?



## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

_Very_ interesting video by David Sinclair about using super-resveratrol molecules to *reverse *aging in certain tissues in mice.

We could be getting very close to the endgame in the fight to end human aging. Doing it in mice is proof of concept. True, it is still anyone's guess as to if and when we will achieve this, but it is beginning to look like it will be sooner rather than later. 

I mean, who knows? We have only just cracked the genetic code. This could technically be a lot easier than anyone expected. Identify genes (or epigenetics) that control aging, and turn them off, job done. OR, it could be more difficult. But how much more? I never make guarantees, but if I had to make an honest prediction, I would say we will pretty much have our answer by the end of the 2020s. 

Exciting, no? I find it rather motivating. I want to help build whatever enthusiasm for this project that I can. I guess there is still the old "pro-death trance"... do people still think that way? I've lost track. The arguments for death have been refuted ad nauseum at this point, and exposed as nothing more than the coping mechanisms which helped us deal with death's hitherto status as inevitable. "Ah, yes, it's a good thing we die! How else could we make the most of our time?!" There's a bunch of others. Needless to say... fuck that! I'll be young and healthy for as long as possible, thankyou. You can go rot and die if you like!

Heh.

Everything changes when you realize, hey, this is for real, you really have a shot of making it. Suddenly everything seems... a lot more important. And then you realize, you know, it really should have been that important all along.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

@Amine
watched the whole thing. sounds exciting! :laughing:


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## Modal Soul (Jun 16, 2013)

I HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET BUT THE TITLE INTRIGUED ME


can someone pm me reminding me to watch it later please


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

It is interesting how life extension research is beginning to grow and branch out. For a long time, I think it was just Aubrey de Grey making a public effort (maybe a few others I'm not aware of). Now Google has thrown its hat (and money, and name) into the ring with project Calico, and you've also got Sinclair, as well as Craig Venter (genome project guy) and a few lesser known folks like Bill Andrews and Michael Fossel. Also there's a slow but steady growth in cryonics awareness and technology. I think a lot of people put off signing up for cryonics until they think they are at risk of dying soon, though. My question is, will preservation tech increase much more between now and the time I die, if I do. I would have to assume it will. Already, they made a significant improvement with the process called "vitrification", which avoids outright freezing of the cells. Freezing causes expansion damage which may be impossible to undo. No one knows.

These 2 videos are OK.. if you have a lot of time on your hands.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

@Amine
I love the dude in the singularity video. very TJ-ish.


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I love the dude in the singularity video. very TJ-ish.


Who, the host? The host kinda cracks me up with his lovable dorkiness. But I feel like if you are saying "very TJ" you are talking about the doctor in the first video. Yeah. I agree. Actually some of the things he said we a bit off, like when he criticized Aubrey de Grey, he wasn't even talking about de Grey's actual positions.


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Is aging the accumulation of damage over years, or is it an active, genetic process of self destruction?

What is Aging? Most Scientists Still Get it Wrong | Josh Mitteldorf

Is Aging an Active Process of Self-destruction?


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## Liquid Metal (Nov 20, 2014)

It's a start, but I'd prefer to have my mind uploaded on a storage device that allows quick information uploads so I can learn things almsot instantly, with an entirely sythetic body.


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## Diophantine (Nov 24, 2011)

Liquid Metal said:


> It's a start, but I'd prefer to have my mind uploaded on a storage device that allows quick information uploads so I can learn things almsot instantly, with an entirely sythetic body.


You do realize the serious implications this might have?! I would actually be very scared if this were to become a practice. Something about it is so inhumane (at that point you described, is it really your conscience or AI? *shivers*).


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Diophantine said:


> You do realize the serious implications this might have?! I would actually be very scared if this were to become a practice. Something about it is so inhumane (at that point you described, is it really your conscience or AI? *shivers*).


There are serious implications, but they aren't a definite outcome. If I were 100% assured it were safe, however, mind uploading would be truly great. We're talking about the principle of it. In practice, myself and probably most people would be quite hesitant to jump in.


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## Liquid Metal (Nov 20, 2014)

Diophantine said:


> You do realize the serious implications this might have?! I would actually be very scared if this were to become a practice. Something about it is so inhumane (at that point you described, is it really your conscience or AI? *shivers*).


Seems inevitable for us to eventually improve upon and replace our physical form entirely. As for my own conscious vs AI, I'm not sure it matters.


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## Scary (Jan 10, 2015)

This is interesting, but do we have the resources to provide for the population growth it would entail?


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## Diophantine (Nov 24, 2011)

Liquid Metal said:


> Seems inevitable for us to eventually improve upon and replace our physical form entirely. As for my own conscious vs AI, I'm not sure it matters.


But surely there exists something in our consciousness which a man cannot himself program or create?


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Scary said:


> This is interesting, but do we have the resources to provide for the population growth it would entail?


The short answer is, that shouldn't be, and isn't, a primary concern, and never has been in question of this nature (such as eradicating smallpox). But here's a rather interesting study for you to chew on. There's a lot of stuff out there addressing this concern.

Demographic Consequences of Defeating Aging



> *Abstract: *A common objection against starting a large-scale biomedical war on aging is the fear of catastrophic population consequences (overpopulation). This fear is only exacerbated by the fact that no detailed demographic projections for radical life extension scenario have been conducted so far. This study explores different demographic scenarios and population projections, in order to clarify what could be the demographic consequences of a successful biomedical war on aging. A general conclusion of this study is that population changes are surprisingly slow in their response to a dramatic life extension. For example, we applied the cohort-component method of population projections to 2005 Swedish population for several scenarios of life extension and a fertility schedule observed in 2005. Even for very long 100-year projection horizon, with the most radical life extension scenario (assuming no aging at all after age 60), the total population increases by 22% only (from 9.1 to 11.0 million). Moreover, if some members of society reject to use new anti-aging technologies for some religious or any other reasons (inconvenience, non-compliance, fear of side effects, costs, etc.), then the total population size may even decrease over time. Thus, even in the case of the most radical life extension scenario, population growth could be relatively slow and may not necessarily lead to overpopulation. Therefore, the real concerns should be placed not on the threat of catastrophic population consequences (overpopulation), but rather on such potential obstacles to a success of biomedical war on aging, as scientific, organizational, and financial limitations.





Diophantine said:


> But surely there exists something in our consciousness which a man cannot himself program or create?


We're made of matter. However, there is quite a debate going on about whether classical/digital computers can fundamentally ever be conscious. However, that's doesn't rule out quantum computers or other alternatives. Again, we are made of matter. That's that. The real question is whether consciousness is fundamental to the universe. The mainstream currently believes it's not, but that it's some ghostly emergent phenomenon that's actually .. an illusion. It does seem a bit more likely to me, though, that matter may indeed have a sort of protoconsciousness (one might call it "mind dust"), and that our brains have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to "bind" these proto-phenomena into a differentiated, unitary subjective experience. Which is why classical computers may simply not cut it--they'll always be mind-dust without phenomenal binding capability, however that works.


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## Liquid Metal (Nov 20, 2014)

Diophantine said:


> But surely there exists something in our consciousness which a man cannot himself program or create?


We manipulate matter to do whatever we please with, and get better at it every day, I don't think an AI that is convinced it is real is any different to us. As @Amine said, the "self" is just an illusion.


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds -- ScienceDaily

Big finding.



> A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists.


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## Blazkovitz (Mar 16, 2014)

I'm taking in some resveratrol regularly. Hopefully, it will slow down my aging.


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Blazkovitz said:


> I'm taking in some resveratrol regularly. Hopefully, it will slow down my aging.


It's a healthy thing to do. I have a nice pill stack going myself. Important to remember, a couple years mean a lot when we are talking about later on in the 21st century. More and more happens every year, so adding an extra 5 years to your life with good diet and exercise could make all the difference for reaching longevity escape velocity, because 5 years in the 2060s is more like 50 years in the 2010s, in terms of how much happens in that time.


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## Mutant Hive Queen (Oct 29, 2013)

Amine said:


> Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds -- ScienceDaily
> 
> Big finding.


Hrmmmmm. 

I have one reservation, which is that we don't know what else in the DNA the RNA strand used activates, if anything. It's only huge to me in one region of the body (the brain)

Speaking of which, would this work on neurons? That's also a treatment for traumatic brain injury possibly too.


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## Amine (Feb 23, 2014)

Autvoyeur said:


> Hrmmmmm.
> 
> I have one reservation, which is that we don't know what else in the DNA the RNA strand used activates, if anything. It's only huge to me in one region of the body (the brain)
> 
> Speaking of which, would this work on neurons? That's also a treatment for traumatic brain injury possibly too.


I dunno if it would work on neurons. Somehow I can't believe that human again could be completely stopped and reversed by telomere preservation, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was an important part of the puzzle.


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