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I also live in a country where there is a universal health service (Spain) but I don't agree with you. The reason is that with this system we stop the market from pricing treatments. Basically a farma megacorp just needs to buy the right official and they are in. No competition.

The problem this causes is long term. We are very close to some sort of bioengineering singularity where your life expectancy (and mine) gets expanded faster than you actually age. This would come to pass faster if we allow a market economy to allocate the right resources at the right hands. That means that yes, you would need to deal with a private company for your health needs, and yes, it would mean that you could get no coverage at all if you fail to manage it properly, but in the long term, it also means that you would get life saving treatments into market faster.

Also, it would mean that the health industry would stop to be considered a drag to the economy and it would be considered a growth engine. Instead of considering health expenditure wasted money, like it is now, it would be considered a growth engine for the economy. I don't really get why expending money buying a car in US is accounted by politicians as a way to grow the economy and treating an illness is considered wasted money.

Please read Longevitymeme. There is a lot of technical information there, but also some political opinion about why a free market for health care and less regulation (yes, I know this is not trendy now) would be good long term.

It's difficult to see how a geneticist could actually make such an absurd statement.

Probably because he is a geneticist, and not a historian or sociologist or reproductive health physician. In most countries -- even this country, in the not-so-distant past -- people married and had children in their teens and early 20s. "In 1796, life expectancy hovered around 24 years" -- allegedly not much more than Neolithic people. So if human evolution has progressed for millions of years through men and women procreating in their 20s, how can Professor Jones suggest (with a straight face) that evolution requires older men?

Maybe he's just trying to get laid.

• MIT Technology Review Not Up To Reviewing Healthy Life Extension Technology
• Aubrey de Grey responds
• Technology Review editor responds
• The TR forum for this article - lots of good comments

• MIT Technology Review Not Up To Reviewing Healthy Life Extension Technology
• Aubrey de Grey responds
• Technology Review editor responds
• The TR forum for this article - lots of good comments

Well that sucks - second accepted submission on this topic and I get my name redacted. Grumble.

If this topic interests you, you may want to check out the following:

• The last discussion of Aubrey de Grey on Slashdot
• The Longevity Meme
• Fight Aging
• The Methuselah Foundation
• The Immortality Institute

Lots of good information and links to further resources at those sites.

http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/view_news_item.c fm?news_id=976

But the earlier poster is right in that it's more complex than that, and the telomere mechanism is strongly connected with cancer and important regulatory functions. Doesn't mean it's impossible - just that there's a bunch more work to do.

I think the Brain's structure and biological limitations selected by evolution woul pose a limit to how many years a person can lead a normal life (you know, eating, farting, hangin out with friends, etc).

Besides the biological challenges, there are social challenges. The longevity meme site is a load of hyperbole. I don't buy a bit of it.

I am not for or against people trying to live longer. But, attacking the aging problem by keeping the body organs alive longer is not living longer. I can't imagine how ****ed up a 300 year or a 500 yr old omind would be. Unless there is a clear answer to why evolution lets people die and why we should stop that from happening, I would call this way too much of self-indulgence.

So telomeres are involved, but they aren't the entire picture.

So telomeres are involved, but they aren't the entire picture.

Go read the SENS proposals - they'll tell you exactly how we currently believe we can fix the aging process. Knowing how to do it is half the battle. After that, it's just time, money, and sweat.

In the Fortune article, David Stipp points out that 30 years ago people would have called you mad to predict goats that made spider silk. All the signs are that science can make serious inroads into extending the healthy human life span within 30 years from now - regenerative medicine, cancer therapies, nanomedicine, manipulating mitchondria.

Read my last two newsletters for examples of recent scientific advances that clearly point to ways forward to achieve this goal. It isn't unrealistic. It isn't pie in the sky science. It's just hard work, funding, and time. The time could be short enough for us to choose to live a much longer, healthier life - but it's up to us to make that happen. Hence the Methuselah Mouse prize and similar initiatives. If you value life and want more of it, you should certainly donate.

In the Fortune article, David Stipp points out that 30 years ago people would have called you mad to predict goats that made spider silk. All the signs are that science can make serious inroads into extending the healthy human life span within 30 years from now - regenerative medicine, cancer therapies, nanomedicine, manipulating mitchondria.

Read my last two newsletters for examples of recent scientific advances that clearly point to ways forward to achieve this goal. It isn't unrealistic. It isn't pie in the sky science. It's just hard work, funding, and time. The time could be short enough for us to choose to live a much longer, healthier life - but it's up to us to make that happen. Hence the Methuselah Mouse prize and similar initiatives. If you value life and want more of it, you should certainly donate.

From Longevity Meme: As the founders of the Methuselah Mouse prize realized, healthy life extension in mice is a yardstick by which the public measures possibilities for the future of human health and longevity. Long-lived mice will mean that long-lived people are not too far off. Aubrey de Grey thinks that we could largely defeat aging in mice in a decade, given the right level of funding - certainly food for thought.

From Longevity Meme: As the founders of the Methuselah Mouse prize realized, healthy life extension in mice is a yardstick by which the public measures possibilities for the future of human health and longevity. Long-lived mice will mean that long-lived people are not too far off. Aubrey de Grey thinks that we could largely defeat aging in mice in a decade, given the right level of funding - certainly food for thought.

http://www.methuselahmouse.org

I think that progress to date since the launch last year is pretty impressive. $50,000 raised and $300,000 in pledges is far greater progress than the X Prize managed in the same period of time after launch - learning from the past and improving on it is a good thing. Check out The Three Hundred as well as a good example of how to get a certain set of people involved:

http://www.methuselahfoundation.org/threehundred.a sp

Why are prizes for research so good? Take a look at this piece on how they work and why they work so well:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/topics/research_prize s.cfm

Research prizes work so much better than many other methods of investment in progress that it's surprising you don't see more of them. On average, you'll see 16 dollars invested in progress for every 1 in the prize.

Here's a good article (plus links to other articles) on why research prizes are a great thing: http://www.longevitymeme.org/topics/research_prize s.cfm

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme

The present US administration has been attempting to bury stem cell research and therapeutic cloning - both fundamental technologies in regenerative medicine - since it came to power. Therapeutic cloning is essential to many stem cell therapies and much related research. Immense damage has been done. Christopher Reeve and many stem cell scientists (including the founders of the field) believe that the actions of this administration alone have set the field back by 5 years.

Some nasty math works out from here. There is currently an 80% effective stem cell therapy for heart disease that has been demonstrated in the US, Germany and Japan in human trials. It saves lives. 2000 people die EVERY DAY in the US from heart disease, yet the FDA is currently blocking any application of this working therapy. For more, see:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/protest_fda_ interference.cfm

A stem cell/therapeutic cloning cure for Parkinson's has been demonstrated in mice, as have stem cell cures for nerve damage, diabetes, cancer (yes, a cure for cancer based on stem cells has been demonstrated in mice:

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?article ID=2003-12-10-3

) and many other conditions. This isn't pie in the sky science! Real, working cures based on stem cell medicine are in the labs, only 5-10 years from being available for us. This is the science that the US administration is trying to drown. It's sickening that any group of human beings would try to enforce so much suffering...

The US house of representatives passed a therapeutic cloning ban last year, but the US senate has been sitting on it. More on that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_the_t herapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

The Bush administration basically went over their heads to try and get what they wanted now from the UN, and damn near succeeded. You can read more about that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_globa l_therapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

This stopped being about human reproductive cloning a long time ago - there is a large, influential group of organizations, politicians and factions who stand opposed to any medical progress that will lead to longer, healthier lives. If cures for cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other things get thrown away as well...well, too bad. You can see these views in their raw, ugly forms in the pronouncements of Leon Kass and the President's Council on Bioethics:

http://www.bioethics.gov

In their view, living healthily for longer is bad. Working to cure suffering is bad. Medical progress is bad.

Time to kick these people out of power - if we don't stand up for our right to develop and use better medicine, we're all going to be paying for it in years to come. See more at:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/

Speak out!

Reason

The present US administration has been attempting to bury stem cell research and therapeutic cloning - both fundamental technologies in regenerative medicine - since it came to power. Therapeutic cloning is essential to many stem cell therapies and much related research. Immense damage has been done. Christopher Reeve and many stem cell scientists (including the founders of the field) believe that the actions of this administration alone have set the field back by 5 years.

Some nasty math works out from here. There is currently an 80% effective stem cell therapy for heart disease that has been demonstrated in the US, Germany and Japan in human trials. It saves lives. 2000 people die EVERY DAY in the US from heart disease, yet the FDA is currently blocking any application of this working therapy. For more, see:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/protest_fda_ interference.cfm

A stem cell/therapeutic cloning cure for Parkinson's has been demonstrated in mice, as have stem cell cures for nerve damage, diabetes, cancer (yes, a cure for cancer based on stem cells has been demonstrated in mice:

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?article ID=2003-12-10-3

) and many other conditions. This isn't pie in the sky science! Real, working cures based on stem cell medicine are in the labs, only 5-10 years from being available for us. This is the science that the US administration is trying to drown. It's sickening that any group of human beings would try to enforce so much suffering...

The US house of representatives passed a therapeutic cloning ban last year, but the US senate has been sitting on it. More on that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_the_t herapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

The Bush administration basically went over their heads to try and get what they wanted now from the UN, and damn near succeeded. You can read more about that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_globa l_therapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

This stopped being about human reproductive cloning a long time ago - there is a large, influential group of organizations, politicians and factions who stand opposed to any medical progress that will lead to longer, healthier lives. If cures for cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other things get thrown away as well...well, too bad. You can see these views in their raw, ugly forms in the pronouncements of Leon Kass and the President's Council on Bioethics:

http://www.bioethics.gov

In their view, living healthily for longer is bad. Working to cure suffering is bad. Medical progress is bad.

Time to kick these people out of power - if we don't stand up for our right to develop and use better medicine, we're all going to be paying for it in years to come. See more at:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/

Speak out!

Reason

The present US administration has been attempting to bury stem cell research and therapeutic cloning - both fundamental technologies in regenerative medicine - since it came to power. Therapeutic cloning is essential to many stem cell therapies and much related research. Immense damage has been done. Christopher Reeve and many stem cell scientists (including the founders of the field) believe that the actions of this administration alone have set the field back by 5 years.

Some nasty math works out from here. There is currently an 80% effective stem cell therapy for heart disease that has been demonstrated in the US, Germany and Japan in human trials. It saves lives. 2000 people die EVERY DAY in the US from heart disease, yet the FDA is currently blocking any application of this working therapy. For more, see:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/protest_fda_ interference.cfm

A stem cell/therapeutic cloning cure for Parkinson's has been demonstrated in mice, as have stem cell cures for nerve damage, diabetes, cancer (yes, a cure for cancer based on stem cells has been demonstrated in mice:

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?article ID=2003-12-10-3

) and many other conditions. This isn't pie in the sky science! Real, working cures based on stem cell medicine are in the labs, only 5-10 years from being available for us. This is the science that the US administration is trying to drown. It's sickening that any group of human beings would try to enforce so much suffering...

The US house of representatives passed a therapeutic cloning ban last year, but the US senate has been sitting on it. More on that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_the_t herapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

The Bush administration basically went over their heads to try and get what they wanted now from the UN, and damn near succeeded. You can read more about that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_globa l_therapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

This stopped being about human reproductive cloning a long time ago - there is a large, influential group of organizations, politicians and factions who stand opposed to any medical progress that will lead to longer, healthier lives. If cures for cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other things get thrown away as well...well, too bad. You can see these views in their raw, ugly forms in the pronouncements of Leon Kass and the President's Council on Bioethics:

http://www.bioethics.gov

In their view, living healthily for longer is bad. Working to cure suffering is bad. Medical progress is bad.

Time to kick these people out of power - if we don't stand up for our right to develop and use better medicine, we're all going to be paying for it in years to come. See more at:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/

Speak out!

Reason

The present US administration has been attempting to bury stem cell research and therapeutic cloning - both fundamental technologies in regenerative medicine - since it came to power. Therapeutic cloning is essential to many stem cell therapies and much related research. Immense damage has been done. Christopher Reeve and many stem cell scientists (including the founders of the field) believe that the actions of this administration alone have set the field back by 5 years.

Some nasty math works out from here. There is currently an 80% effective stem cell therapy for heart disease that has been demonstrated in the US, Germany and Japan in human trials. It saves lives. 2000 people die EVERY DAY in the US from heart disease, yet the FDA is currently blocking any application of this working therapy. For more, see:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/protest_fda_ interference.cfm

A stem cell/therapeutic cloning cure for Parkinson's has been demonstrated in mice, as have stem cell cures for nerve damage, diabetes, cancer (yes, a cure for cancer based on stem cells has been demonstrated in mice:

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?article ID=2003-12-10-3

) and many other conditions. This isn't pie in the sky science! Real, working cures based on stem cell medicine are in the labs, only 5-10 years from being available for us. This is the science that the US administration is trying to drown. It's sickening that any group of human beings would try to enforce so much suffering...

The US house of representatives passed a therapeutic cloning ban last year, but the US senate has been sitting on it. More on that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_the_t herapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

The Bush administration basically went over their heads to try and get what they wanted now from the UN, and damn near succeeded. You can read more about that here:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_globa l_therapeutic_cloning_ban.cfm

This stopped being about human reproductive cloning a long time ago - there is a large, influential group of organizations, politicians and factions who stand opposed to any medical progress that will lead to longer, healthier lives. If cures for cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other things get thrown away as well...well, too bad. You can see these views in their raw, ugly forms in the pronouncements of Leon Kass and the President's Council on Bioethics:

http://www.bioethics.gov

In their view, living healthily for longer is bad. Working to cure suffering is bad. Medical progress is bad.

Time to kick these people out of power - if we don't stand up for our right to develop and use better medicine, we're all going to be paying for it in years to come. See more at:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/

Speak out!

Reason

When an article from CNN and the New York Times feature FRONT AND CENTRE stories on potentially extreme life extension,

you know there's gotta be something to it.

When the US Government's, Presidents Council on Bioethics, decides to target life-extension as 'undesirable',

you just gotta know there's something to it.

Regardless about how you feel about living forever.. and that really is a long time... there is no doubt that we are heading for longer HEALTHSPAN's. Of course, how much life is too much? Could that possibly even be a question? Should people tell you how long you should live? You can bet there'll be a lot of people putting out their opinions in what is certain to be a very interesting dialogue!

If you're interested in serious life extension...

check out these links

ImmInst.Org

LongevityMeme.Org

As I mention on the Longevity Meme:

<p>I can't help but feel that some important threshold in public awareness has been passed when a New York Times article on the science behind greatly extending healthy lifespan is a topic for discussion on Slashdot. The article quotes Aubrey de Grey of <a href=http://www.methuselahmouse.org>Methuselah Mouse Project</a> fame; he's been getting a fair few column inches of late, which is also a good thing. Slowly but surely, healthy life extension and aging research is moving closer to the spotlight.

<p>There's a bunch of resources, pointers and a gentle guide to the sensible way to extending your healthy life at the <a href=http://www.longevitymeme.org>Longevity Meme</a>, if you care to give it a look. Lots more interesting stuff for the /. crowd.

<p>Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme