Tweaked Genes Can Double Worm's Lifespan

jlechem writes ">New Scientist is reporting that U.S. scientists have doubled the life span of nematode worms with no apparent physiological side affects. Before scientists were able to double the worms lifespan but they were unable to reproduce. The breakthrough was achieved by turning certain genes on and off at certain times during the development cycle of the worms. While limited to worms right now, the researchers believe this could eventually lead to longer human lifespans. So what happens to those people who don't want to live forever?"

Comments

Wear out

[lowtekneq]

I would think that the main problem with pushing the lifespan of any animal would be that certain organs begin to fail first, organs like the heart or liver.

overcrowding

[liquidice5]

I think that all of this research is harmful, and that's without even bringing the "don't play god argument"

If everyone lived forever, and continued to have children, we would overpopulate the earth and starve.
Hunting season? its for the good of the deer and such, if we didnt keep the populations down, they would use all of their resources, and starve.

If we could double the lifetime of humans, than twice the resources would be in use, because just because you live longer doesnt mean you arent gonna have any children, you will probably want to have more of them

sure it would be nice not the have to deal with grandma dying, but we should worry about feeding the mouths we already have before we worry about making those mouths live forever

Thats simple

[bpb213]

"So what happens to those people who don't want to live forever?"

Only the people who want to live forever will pay to have it done.

(id imagine this cant be cheap for a while)

(and besides, 200 years isnt forever).

Re:Fixed point solution

[random735]

This is exactly the point raised by Asimov in one of his book series.. there was a set of humans that, due to the planets they were living on, had 200 year life spans.. at one point, a group of "normal" humans in a spaceship threatens to ram a group of "supernormals"... the ploy works because the normal humans are only risking a few decades of life, while the supernormals have a century or more at risk, so they back down.... The virtue of life being (relatively) "cheap" makes us more likely to do exciting, interesting things...

2x the life but no reproduction sounds good to me

[dh003i]

I don't know about all of you, but I'd gladly settle to live twice as long for the "sacrafice" of not being able to have children.

Re:Fixed point solution

[Yokaze]

Ah, that's why the young people are so cautious, fearing the abrupt end of their long productive life, while the old ones, facing the imminent death, are the adventurous ones.

To be more serious:
Young people are more adventurous, they're less aware that they can die. Death is an "Others People Problem". When people get older, they become more aware that life is quite fragile and suddenly have an eye on their health.

The absence from a death by ageing could make people even more adventurous. The abundance of a thing usually makes one less aware of its value.

Imagine a possible biography of an practicably immortal and compare it to a typical one from today.