Can Advanced Technology Pave the Way for Human Immortality?
Imagine a world where candles on a birthday cake could light up an entire room. This might be the reality if certain global leaders have their way. A recent conversation between two influential figures has reignited the age-old debate - could technology advancements allow humans to live up to 150 years or even achieve immortality?
"The more you live, the younger you become through continuous organ transplants, possibly leading to immortality," said a translator, voicing the thoughts of one such leader. Another leader responded, "This century may witness humans living up to 150 years."
Longest Living Human to Date
So far, France's Jeanne Calment has come the closest to this prediction. She passed away in 1997, having lived for 122 years and 164 days, setting a record for the longest confirmed human lifespan. Since then, the pursuit of extreme longevity has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. This industry is investing heavily in cutting-edge research and experimental treatments with the ultimate goal of halting or even reversing the aging process.
Exciting technologies such as nanorobots for precise medicine delivery, bio-engineered organs for transplant, and AI-generated digital clones that could "live on" after a person's death are being explored. But, there are warnings that despite these advancements, the human body has a biological limit. Beyond this limit, the body cannot recover from illness and stress, leading to an inevitable end.
Biological Transformation Needed
To achieve extreme longevity, we would need to transform middle-aged people into teenagers, centenarians should become young adults, and supercentenarians would need to become like 50–70-year-old people and maintain that state for decades. Unfortunately, no current or foreseeable science is capable of achieving this feat.
Despite medical advances, public health initiatives, and economic and social progress, life expectancy gains are slowing and may not be sustainable. The average life expectancy was 78.4 years a few years back, a slight increase from 75.4 years a few decades ago, but a small decrease from 78.8 years recently.
It is projected that by the mid-century, there will only be about 422,000 centenarians, representing around 0.1% of the population. This is a significant increase from around 101,000 a few years back. Currently, the oldest living person in America is Naomi Whitehead, who is 115 years old.
Rejuvenation of Tissues Required
To reach the age of 150, we would need to rejuvenate tissues periodically and safely. This would involve preventing or curing the major diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, infection, renal failure, and frailty. It would also involve resetting epigenetic and proteostatic damage and replacing failing organs without lifelong immunosuppression.
Longevity Technologies Under Investigation
Various technologies are being explored in the quest for human longevity. Some of these include nanobots, organ transplants and synthetic organs, stem cell therapy, plasma exchange therapy, and 'digital immortality' with AI.
Nanobots
Nanobots are small robots that can be used to deliver medication directly to the cells affected by a disease, detect diseases, and repair damaged tissues. Despite promising progress in lab testing, the use of nanobots in clinics is still a long way off.
Organ Transplants and Synthetic Organs
Transplanted organs can extend a person's life by years or even decades, but they can't last forever. The immune system often recognizes the transplanted organ as foreign and attacks it. Bio-engineered organs could solve this problem, but we're still in the early stages of this technology.
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy has the potential to control aging by regenerating or substituting damaged tissues. However, this treatment comes with complex ethical issues and the risk of uncontrolled cell growth leading to tumors.
Plasma Exchange Therapy
Plasma exchange therapy involves replacing a person's plasma with a toxin-free substitute. Despite its popularity in longevity clinics, it has not been proven to improve lifespan in healthy people.
'Digital Immortality' with AI
'Digital immortality' is the concept of your consciousness or personality living on in an AI-powered replica after your death. This idea has not been realized with current science.
As the quest for human longevity continues, researchers are focusing on slowing aging at the cellular level. This involves repairing DNA damage, preserving mitochondrial function, improving metabolic health, and reducing chronic inflammation. The most promising research areas include epigenetic reprogramming and senolytic drugs that clear out toxic cells.
