OpEd Piece on Extended Life Expectancy

daksis writes "CNN has posted an OpEd piece from the New York Times that raises some interesting issues. With the current advances in biology, we as a society are facing the real possibility that "immortality" could some day be the norm. What sort of social impact can we expect when/if life expectancies are measured in centuries?"

Comments

A more realistic range?

[gerardrj]

I watch a lot of educational TV, and in that veign watch a lot of UCTV (University of Califonia TV). Recently I was watching a lecture on geriatrics, aging and genetics. The doctor giving the lecture stated that 150 to 160 years is likely the physical limit to which we can extend the lifespan of the human body. There's more to it than just growing new/ replacing worn organs. We actually need to attack the pre-programmed limits of cellular division/growth.

There are already people in the world who have lived for 120 to 130 years, but these are in societies where elders are respected both for their age, and their wisom/experience. This is most decidedly not the case in most Western societies where we toss our elderly in nursing homes and ignore them to the extent possible.

I don't have RealPlayer installed, but I think this might be the show I was watching. In any case, if you have the time, there are several very good lectures on aging, genetics and exercise on the web site in the "video on demand" section.
Of for those of you with DishNetwork (are they on DirectTV also?), add channel #9412 (and the Univ. of Washington one #9400) to your regular group, there's some fascinating stuff on these channels.