Unnatural?  It seems strange to label something that happens with 100%
reliability across every species on the planet as unnatural.

And clean, cheap fuel by fusion is also two decades away -- as it has
been for 50 years. Saying something is 20 years away is like saying
that we have no idea -- which is about right in this case.

Yes, there is much that is exciting going on. There is room for hope.
There may be advances for people with certain specific defects. But
there really is no basis for any specific projection of progress that
will generally affect aging.

The time it takes to develop and test a treatment with a general
affect on aging almost precludes anything substantial within 20 years.

I emphasize that I share your general excitement, and am optimistic
for the long run.

bob

Martha et al,

I agree with almost everything everyone has written and thank you for
your responses. I did not expect to get any and I'm sorry to be long
in checking. Below are my current thoughts on aging which are somewhat
bourne out by the presentations I viewed at the International
Assocation of Biogerontologist 10th Congress which was held in
Cambridge, UK in September. There are MP3's of all of the talks and
some powerpoints available at...

http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/iabg10/

-----------
In the past century, the average lifespan has increased largely due to
medicene improving health largely through the development of
antibiotics and obstetrics. The next challenge will be in keeping all
these people who have survived these possible pitfalls healthier by
combatting the diseases of aging.

Far from being the dogmatically intractable multi-faceted problem that
it is normally viewed as, aging is coming to be seen as something that
in which we perhaps can intervene, even if we don't have all the
details.  There seems to be cellular processes involving energy
production and DNA damage that are central to the ageing phenomenon.
Of particular interest has been the study of free radical damage as
our mitochondria increasingly generate oxidative chemical species
instead of ATP, much like a water pump with leaks in in the hose,
which cause mutations in our DNA and damage our protein synthesis and
recylcling machinery.  Additionally, the control of gene expression by
the addition of methyl groups to the histone molecules around which
our DNA is packaged allows yet another level of control that can go
wrong and apparently does.

Telomeres certainly play a role in the senescence of cells and the
aging phenotype as well critical roles in the development of cancer.

Today there are possible interventions, the most documented and viable
at the moment would be in the use of caloric restriction which counter
intuititively, enhances survival in all organisms that it has yet been
tested.  There are a few pharmaceutical companies, (Elixir, BioMarker,
Ceremedix, Senetek) who are involved in researching compounds known to
have life-extension benefits and there is growing interest in the
pharmaceutical industry in general as they realize that the real money
is going to be in getting and keeping people healthy as the current
'treat the symptoms' paradigm seems to be backfiring.

There are certainly many other promsing technologies being developed
apace that are easily identified from the current literature and
journals.

To those who say that the promise of TRUE anti-aging is only that, a
promise, I agree and I am as skeptical as anyone as to how quickly
advances will be taken from lab to clinic and who will be the first to
benefit from these technologies.  I would say that I am much more
optimistic about the promise of retarding/reversing aging than say,
the promise of flying nuclear powered cars that was issued in the 40's
and 50's or even the promise that cancer was going to be a thing of
the past as was a popular notion in the 60's.

The reason is that never before in the history of medicene or even our
species have we had the unique combination of the knowledge and
rudimentary understanding of our genome that we have today.  The human
genome project handed us a roadmap through a previously unknown
fronteir, this granted embryonic knowledge combined with the ever
escalating power of bioinformatics and microarray techniques will
surely bear some worthwhile fruit very shortly.  We will not have to
wait long for concrete research to point the way to possible ways to
interfere with the deterioration of our physical systems, and with a
problem as universal as age related disease, there will be a huge
demand for these technologies when it becomes known they are truly
possible.

Far from being an expensive proposition to develop, if we don't do
something rather quickly, the aging boomer generation will certainly
place an already stressed health care system under intolerable
demands.  The resulting financial crisis could bankrupt western
medicene, leaving nothing but futile care theory as an option and
family members with very difficult decisions about the care of their
eldery suffering parents and relatives.

Thus I believe it is a moral responsibility to bring these
technologies into the world as quickly as possible, but ushering in a
new era in human health and longevity will necessarily bring a huge
adjustment in society.  Social upheaval is unavoidable.  What is
avoidable is burying our heads in the sand or worse, attempting to
block the development of these technologies that could reduce the
suffering of our generation and the generations to come, because we
have wealth distribution problems or those in power do not wish to
upset the status quo.  Rather than placing brakes on the technology,
perhaps we should accelerate the understanding, dialogue and look at
enhancing distribution systems so that as many people can benefit as
quickly as possible.  We are entering into an era which will demand
principled leaders of uncommon vision and integrity to avoid the worst
case scenarios, and of these, there is short supply these days.  More
than that, it is a collective will that is required rather than the
historical apathy and abdication of personal responsibility for the
sake of convenience that we normally see, which will help these
leaders, should they arrive, bring humanity to new levels of health
and well being.

That these technologies are being developed is a fact.  That they will
be used is inevitable.  How soon and the manner in which they are
applied is up to each and every one of us, as usual.  I for one,
support the "Methuselah Mouse Prize", not because I think it is a
means to an end, but that it is a means to a beginning.  I'm adding a
very small pebble which will hopefully be the start of a large
landslide that will bury an ancient foe forever.  Perhaps not in my
lifetime, but certainly in the lifetime of our children.  People may
say that we are powerless to effect any change and this is a lot of
hogwash.  I urge them to do their own research so that they may feel
comfortable with that  conclusion as the stakes are fairly high in
this regard.  It was a slow realization which I have undergone and I
don't expect anyone to take what I'm saying at face value.  The links
may be helpful for the curious and provide a good start.

--------------------
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"
Margaret Mead

Thanks for listening..

Long life and happiness to all
----------------
Kevin Perrott
www.kevsplace.net (down for approx 24 hrs..)
www.methuselahmouse.org
www.longevitymeme.org