Aubrey De Grey: We Could Live to 1000 in the Future

Aubrey De Grey was trained as a computer engineering in Cambridge from 1981-1985 and since he was a child he wanted to do something to the world, to change it significantly. He knew since he was 8, that aging was the worlds most lethal killing device that sends almost 100,000 people into their graves each day and it causes 2/3 of the deaths globally. After graduating, in 1990 he met Adelaide Carpenter a biologist and despite their 19 year age difference, they got married fairly quickly and soon, he developed a interest in biology although that wasn’t his field of research.

In 2000, he created a group called SENS (Stratagies for Engineering Negliglible Senscence) a 25 year research group to rejuvenate a human body to allow them to live indefinitly. Aubrey de Grey says humans ages in 7 ways, each which can be solved. He thinks these are the main reasons why human ages and how they can be solved.

1. Caner-causing nuclear mutations/epimutations: These are changes to the nuclear DNA (nDNA), the molecule that contains our genetic information, or to proteins which bind to the nDNA. Certain mutations can lead to cancer, and, according to de Grey, non-cancerous mutations and epimutations do not contribute to aging within a normal lifespan, so cancer is the only endpoint of these types of damage that must be addressed.
2. Mitochondrial mutations: Mitochondria are components in our cells that are important for energy production. They contain their own genetic material, and mutations to their DNA can affect a cell’s ability to function properly. Indirectly, these mutations may accelerate many aspects of aging.
3. Intracellular aggregates: Our cells are constantly breaking down proteins and other molecules that are no longer useful or which can be harmful. Those molecules which can’t be digested simply accumulate as junk inside our cells. Atherosclerosis, macular degeneration and all kinds of neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease) are associated with this problem.
4. Extracellular aggregates: Harmful junk protein can also accumulate outside of our cells. The amyloid plaque seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients is one example.
5. Cell loss: Some of the cells in our bodies cannot be replaced, or can only be replaced very slowly – more slowly than they die. This decrease in cell number causes the heart to become weaker with age, and it also causes Parkinson’s disease and impairs the immune system.
6. Cell senescence: This is a phenomenon where the cells are no longer able to divide, but also do not die and let others divide. They may also do other things that they’re not supposed to, like secreting proteins that could be harmful. Immune senescence and type 2 diabetes are caused by this.
7. Extracellular crosslinks: Cells are held together by special linking proteins. When too many cross-links form between cells in a tissue, the tissue can lose its elasticity and cause problems including arteriosclerosis and presbyopia.                                                                                                                                                                        

He believes as long as all these problems are solved, humans will be able to reach indefinite lifespan or Acturial Escape Longevity where life-expectancy is increasing more than time. His first step is to do experiments on mice only when their middle aged, lets say two years old and have one year remaining. His goal is to triple their remaining lifespan and enable them to live to 5 years. With adequate funding, he says there is a 90% chance that this will be accomplised within the next 10 years. After that, it would mean transforming this type of technology to humans. He speculates their is a 50/50 chance that it would be avaiable 15 years after the life-extension of mice and at least a 10% that it would be 100 years before they find a cure.

The first generation therapies will only give 30-50 years of healthy lifespan but within that time, better improved therapies will be established giving 30-50 years of extra life achieving acturial escape velocity as I mentioned just now. He speculates the first person to benefit from this therapy may already be 50 to 60.

Is extending human life really that good? What about overpopulation? What is the point if you can’t die. Wouldnt there be no meaning in life? It would be so boring? Aren’t you playing god?

Aubrey has many counter-arguments for these questions. Overpopulation would be a problem but as technology is developing other alternatives may be discovered such as space travel. Also, you can still die by getting run over by a truck or falling of a 50 storey building. Lastly, if these therapies do actually come to reality it would be god who mandated it and his will. If he doenst like this, he wouldn’t allow it to work.

My opinion? I think its brilliant as I don’t the feeling of getting old and decreptive. I want to feel young forever and travel the world until D-Day.