New Research: You Can Live Forever (Prof. D Sinclair, Harvard). Great Idea?
Details
Talking Points:
Background: David Sinclair, a Harvard professor, has developed an "information theory of aging". He claims that the DNA in each body cell, and in mitochondria, has a perfect backup copy. A messenger molecule, NAD, constantly restores the working DNA from the backup. NAD levels decline with age. By restoring NAD levels the organism can live forever. He has done this with mice. Human trials are pending.
1. You have chosen not to die, ever. You can even choose your biological age. This might create a few problems. what do you think?
2. Uh, what are you going to do with yourself for the next 300 years?
3. So children will no longer be needed ... What do you think?
4. If people lived much longer, do you think this would make them much wiser? Would they continue to learn and develop?
5. It is seen as a stretch, socially and emotionally for most people to have a partner more than a decade older/younger. What would be the effect of athletic centurions on dating sites?
6. How are you working on your own health span? 'Health span' is years of remaining good health until death. Diet & exercise are obviously part of health span but there is a lot of research on new drugs & supplements. It's a gold rush. The science behind 'health span' research seems to be basically sound, but mostly recent.
7. Would you personally consider it worthwhile to attempt some management of the senolytics in you body? Senolytics is the process of clearing dead and zombie cells out of your body. Cells are dying constantly. It's a natural process. The garbage collection becomes less efficient with age. This affects health and the speed of aging. Certain foods, and a number of drugs & supplements enhance senolytics.
8. How long do you actually want to live? a) A lot of people under 50 cannot imagine life after 50. b) A lot of other people over 50 with lifestyle diseases are pretty miserable and don't want to live much longer. c) Some people think the cycle of life & death is 'God's plan' and become upset if that is interfered with. d) And some people are happy to keep living & learning as long as possible ...
9. What political reactions would you expect to announcements that we could live to 150 y.o., or forever? Half a century ago public discussion centered on a panic that the world was becoming overpopulated. The most extreme reaction was China's one child policy. Now for 20 years the panic has been that falling populations will ruin economies and bankrupt governments.
10. The rich and/or well educated, on the whole live longer than the poor. New and maybe expensive technologies to extend life greatly will make this divide far greater. What solutions do you see to this dilemma?
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A related meetup, "Adelaide Shallow Thinkers" is run in a CBD pub every second Sunday afternoon, 2-3:30pm : https://www.meetup.com/adelaide-shallow-thinkers/ . The Adelaide Shallow Thinkers topics are the same as those in Adelaide Active Thinkers For & Against. However the Shallow Thinkers meetup aims more for genial conversation with no preparation.
The Active Thinkers topics are run as Zoom events. Participants are encouraged to look at the 10 talking points and extra reading links in the comments section before the meetup. This adds to the depth of discussion.
Thor is the organizer of both meetups. His email is thormay@yahoo.com