Someone alive on Earth today will reach the ripe old age of 1,000.
That's according to one prominent British scientist, who is determined to "hack" human mortality by finding a scientific answer to the Fountain of Youth.
Dr. Aubrey de Grey, an anti-ageing expert based in the United States, reckons new biotechnology will help us live centuries longer.
"It’s extraordinary to me that it's such an incendiary claim," Dr de Grey, 55, told The Week.
His team at the SENS Research Foundation in California's Silicon Valley are developing techniques to fix the ways your body breaks down in your later years.
That includes removing "junk" from inside your cells that accumulates naturally as you age, as well as removing bad or damaged cells.
Treatments would involve "biohacking" – editing your cells or DNA to make permanent changes to your body.
Injections or swallowed medicine would warp your genes in an attempt to turn off mechanisms that cause you to age, extending your life well beyond what nature intended.
The SENS foundation's work has peaked the interest of Google founder Peter Thiel, who is helping to bankroll its research.
And according to Dr de Grey, the biggest obstacle going forward is the general public.
The London-born scientist says "popular misunderstanding of the nature of the crusade" threatens to hold back research, as many people are opposed to the idea of human enhancement.
But it's not just Joe Bloggs he has to worry about.
Scientists opposed to the idea of biohacking have branded it rash and irresponsible, as we don't know the long-term effects of treatments.
Questions have also been raised over plausibility.
University of Michigan professor Richard Miller told The Week that Dr de Grey's life-span goal is "so far from plausible that it commands no respect at all within the informed scientific community."
The quest to extend to human life is gathering momentum in Silicon Valley.
The oldest humans live to around 120, but tech moguls with cash to burn have turned to bizarre treatments in a bid to solve the "problem of death".
Some pay thousands to inject themselves with stem cells, while others zap their brains with electricity.
One gruesome scheme sees wealthy crackpots attempt to boost their lifespan by transfusing the blood of younger humans into their veins.
This story originally appeared in The Sun.
Someone alive on Earth today will reach the ripe old age of 1,000.
Discussion in 'Other News' started by Chinatown, Mar 28, 2019.
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