Could future technologies help us avoid the grim reaper?

By Dick Pelletier

     The 20th century was dominated by two major races: the space race and the nuclear arms race; both of which drove technological progress and impacted education, the economy, the environment, politics, and cultural values.

     What races will have similar impacts on the 21st century? “The next frontier isn’t space, it’s us,” said Gregory Stock, author of Redesigning Humans. Humanity is likely to pursue biomedical and genetic enhancements because huge sums of money are being invested in the research and “because we’re human, and we believe that we deserve a better life.”

     Living a long and healthy life in a youthful body has always been one of humanity’s greatest dreams. And now, recent progress in genetics and stem cell research hold forth the promise that science could one day enable us to exert total control over our biological aging.

     The most realistic way to combat aging, researchers believe, is to rejuvenate the body at the molecular and cellular levels. This process would remove all accumulated damage and restore our bodies to a biologically younger state. Rejuvenation therapies would postpone age-related frailty and disease indefinitely, extending our lives while eliminating, rather than lengthening the period of late-life debilitation.

     uturist Ray Kurzweil takes this idea even further. Referred to as “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes Magazine, this creative visionary recently predicted that biotech and nanotech advances expected over the next two decades, may be sufficient for humanity to eliminate aging completely and make a realistic stab at preventing most deaths.

     In his bestselling book, Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, Kurzweil says, “Whereas some of my contemporaries may be satisfied to embrace aging gracefully as part of the cycle of life; that’s not my view. It may be ‘natural’, but I don’t see anything positive in losing my mental agility, sensory acuity, physical limberness, sexual desire, or any other human ability.”

     During a recent interview with CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield, Kurzweil revealed steps outlined in his book that bridge the gulf between today, when medical help focuses more on treating symptoms than cures; and tomorrow, when the biotech and nanotech revolutions promise to eradicate most diseases. He divides the steps into three bridges.

     Bridge One begins today and includes adopting a nutrient menu specifically designed to meet each individual’s genetic requirements. This includes eating less animal fats, carbohydrates, and high-glycemic-load foods, and adding more physical and mental activities to our life.

     Bridge Two relies on biotech advances expected in the next decade, when stem cell and other gene therapies will be available to replace defective tissues and organs, and provide cures for cancer, heart disease, and many other sicknesses.

     Bridge Three takes us into the 2020s, when nanotech, robot, and artificial intelligence will provide cell-repair mechanisms, human-machine interfaces, and vastly improved minds. Forward-thinkers predict that by 2030, every adult will live in an ageless, highly-intelligent, and disease-free body.

     Experts point out that what humans have always dreamed of – the promise of living indefinitely in a healthy body – can become reality. By following his three bridges, Kurzweil believes that most people, including many in today’s older age group, can survive and live to enjoy this “magical future.”

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.