Every day science brings humanity closer to an old dream: immortality. The path to immortality is thorny and difficult, but the ultimate goal justifies any means (although one can argue with this). It is very likely that those born in this century will no longer have to die. Looking at the achievements of biologists, neuroscientists, engineers and pharmacists in the context of life extension, I want only one thing: to delay the critical moment as far as possible in order to overcome the threshold of endless renewal. Yes, a person is "suddenly mortal", as one of the main characters of the classic of literature said, but the examples of people living up to a hundred years and more give hope that an old woman with a scythe can be deceived. The good news is that if you embark on the road of struggle against the inevitable end, you have nothing to lose. Death is the ultimate end to any struggletherefore, the fight against death seems to be taken for granted.
Man is a complex set of dynamic factors, consisting of billions of cells, bone and muscle tissue, heart and kidneys, neurons and memories. It seems impossible to recreate a person in a way other than natural in the foreseeable future. However, with the development of computer technology and the emergence of artificial intelligence, it becomes obvious that we could, if not repeat, then at least imitate many of nature's tools. A person can be a complex set of individual parameters, the sum of all parts, but upon closer examination, all these parts obey the usual and universal laws. Does this mean that we will be able to cheat death if we study these laws well? Let's get a look.
Growing organs
A person's physical health is based on many factors, which, as a rule, are reduced to the absence of infectious, viral, hereditary and acquired diseases and the integrity of the body.
Until the beginning of the last century, people could only guess about the existence of bacteria. Think about it: microbiology as a separate science did not exist yet some one hundred and fifty years ago, when your great-great-grandmother was alive. It is enough to look at modern medicine to understand what a huge leap in improving the quality of life for people was given by the emergence of microscopes and microbiology as such. We can now treat infectious diseases, and very successfully. And despite the aggravation of the problem in the form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we are confident that we will find a way to cope with the disease.
But what about the organs? A broken arm cannot be cured with pills, and a heart that needs a transplant cannot be saved with an injection. The situation is even worse with organs lost as a result of amputation or tragic events. You can't just take and transplant a leg, hoping that the body will restore all nerve connections and learn to manipulate the new limb. The queues for transplantation of internal organs are growing every year. What if you, on your way to immortality, suddenly lose a pair of legs or arms? Life will lose its former meaning.
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Fortunately, active work is underway in this direction. Scientists offer a solution in the form of organs grown on a different carrier. Pluripotent stem cells, which are found in humans in infancy, have amazing power: they can differentiate into any type of tissue except extraembryonic (placenta and yolk sac). Taking cells of an adult, turning them into pluripotent cells and multiplying them, scientists could get an unlimited amount of raw materials for the creation and reconstruction of an organ that is native to a person. It remains only to find stem cells, but more on that below, and create a "farm" for growing.
In 2016, Canadian biophysicist Andrew Pelling and his team at the University of Ottawa successfully grew human tissue using … apples. Using the method of decellularization, they removed the cells of the apple and remained with the cellular "forests", practically drying the apple, ridding it of the "meat". Then an ear-shaped piece was cut out of the apple and filled with human cells. This is how the auricle appeared. Pelling claims that his method will quickly and cheaply create scarce implants for the restoration of human organs.
Stem cells
Stem cells are undecided cells that can transform into other cells - heart, neurons, liver, lungs, skin. They can divide and grow. In childhood or youth, these stem cells act as built-in repairmen. They heal and restore the normal functions of damaged organs.
With aging, stem cell stocks decrease by 100 or even 10,000 times in different tissues and organs. In addition, they undergo genetic mutations that reduce their quality and effectiveness in repairing the body. Agree, it would be great to stop the degeneration of stem cells and maintain their reserves for an unlimited time.
At the beginning of the article, we started talking about the fact that "those born in this century will not have to die." You see, at the moment of birth, the human body is in a state of biological perfection, says physician Bob Hariri. The organs have not yet been exposed to a bunch of harmful stimuli such as electromagnetic radiation, chemicals, the biological code is not corrupted. At the moment of birth, it would be possible to take stem cells from the baby with the original, still intact DNA, multiply in large quantities for the future and freeze. Take a note for your child so that when the stem cell banks appear (and they already appear), you could provide him with endless regeneration for many years. Some twenty years will pass, and stem cells will change medicine, and therefore, human life forever.
Cancellation of old age
Speaking about immortality, interested people talk about physiologically healthy and high-quality eternal life. No one wants to spend eternity in the body of a frail old man - people who are tired of such a life often ask to disconnect them from the life support apparatus or give euthanasia. A person deserves eternal life in a young and energetic body. The antipode of youth is old age, that is who our main enemy is.
Like a car, with the passage of time, the human body begins to grow decrepit, overgrowing with problems - the cells age, the body's defenses dry up, harmful waste accumulates, muscles weaken, and so on. The only difference is that the human body is much more resilient than a car and much more efficient.
Senescent cells - senescent cells that can no longer divide to create new cells - can be removed. Experiments on mice injected with Foxo4-DRI showed that mice lived 30% longer. Scientists are targeting aging cells because they see them as the root of all age-related ills, from the fragility of the body and weakened immunity to the appearance of age-related diseases. At the moment, tools are being actively developed to influence aging cells and rejuvenate the body. For example, a compound based on resveratrol, which is found in small amounts in red wine and berries, has been shown to rejuvenate cells by restoring RNA splicing, which renews senescent cells. Aging of cells is also manifested in the shortening of telomeres - DNA at the ends of chromosomes. Some factors of RNA splicing,which decrease with age, can restore telomeres, and together with the restoration of telomeres, cell aging also stops. Is it worth drinking large quantities of red wine after that? Of course not: there is very little resveratrol in it. But since an effective compound is already showing its results (albeit in animals), and there are thousands of possible compounds, this promises us truly healthy immortality. Can anyone really have doubts that in 20-30-40 or even 50 years, scientists will not find an effective cure for old age? Well, fifty years ago, people did not fly into space. But since an effective compound is already showing its results (albeit in animals), and there are thousands of possible compounds, this promises us truly healthy immortality. Can anyone really have doubts that in 20-30-40 or even 50 years, scientists will not find an effective cure for old age? Well, fifty years ago, people did not fly into space. But since an effective compound is already showing its results (albeit in animals), and there are thousands of possible compounds, this promises us truly healthy immortality. Can anyone really have doubts that in 20-30-40 or even 50 years, scientists will not find an effective cure for old age? Well, fifty years ago, people did not fly into space.
Now one thing is clear: various drugs are being tested in laboratory pigs, and clinical trials in humans are still a long way off, but the number of rescue paths is growing from year to year, and interdisciplinary collaboration is showing an amazing effect. And we have not yet moved away from biology.
Strict diet
There is a growing body of proven evidence that extreme dieting and fasting, and lifelong calorie restriction of 30%, can be a startling cure for old age. The idea that the body lives longer, when it is hungry more and eats less, is rooted in the distant past. But in reality, giving up 25-50% of daily calories consumed causes anger and denial in people. Why do you need eternal life if you can't enjoy your favorite cutlets with mashed potatoes and hamburgers?
However, a team of scientists led by gerontologist Walter Longo of the University of Southern California concluded that rejuvenating effects can be achieved without signing up for a lifelong hunger strike. A "mimicking fasting diet" for five days a month for three months, repeated as needed, will be "safe, appropriate and effective in reducing the risk factors for aging and age-related diseases." It turns out that periodic abstinence from food promises an optimal increase in healthy years of life.
It is important to understand that these findings are preliminary and not 100% proven. As well as the possibility of immortality as such. But we have already come to the conclusion that in the fight against death, any means can be good. And the aspirant to immortality will now use all possible ways to reach the critical moment, after which he will no longer have to die.
Life-saving diet theories are based on the idea that the body's regenerative effects are caused not so much by calorie restriction itself as by subsequent recovery. In contrast, long-term and continuous restriction can lead to negative consequences such as anorexia. Intermittent fasting - five days a month - lowers body weight, improves glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels, among other factors that persisted for three months even after returning to a full diet, studies have shown.
Gene therapy
45-year-old American Elizabeth Parrish, in pursuit of youth, voluntarily decided to try on herself the method of rejuvenation using gene therapy developed by her own research company BioViva. She has undergone two gene therapy courses since September 2015. One course was designed to prevent muscle loss, and the second was to increase telomerase production. Telomerase is an enzyme that adds repeating sequences to the end of the DNA strand at the telomere regions that we have already discussed.
Obviously, Elizabeth would not use a therapy not previously tested in animals. The woman risked her own health for the sake of rejuvenation, risking to conduct therapy without the permission of the state regulator.
According to Elizabeth, she not only managed to stop telomere shortening (they were measured in 2015 and 2016), but also became 20 years younger.
In parallel, the FDA approved the use of gene therapy for patients aged 3 to 25 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. As reported by the journal ScienceTranslationalMedicine, thanks to gene therapy, a group of doctors managed to cure a 58-year-old patient from an incurable form of lymphoblastic leukemia in just 8 days. Although it is too early to talk about any scientific breakthroughs, gene therapy may become a routine procedure in traditional medicine.
However, the lack of proven results and government approval does not stop underground groups of genetic engineers from experimenting. All means are good in the fight.
CRISPR
CRISPR-based gene editing has been in the mainstream for several years. An easy-to-learn, easy-to-use tool that “cut and paste” genes promises a whole slew of incredible breakthroughs in all areas: cancer treatment, HIV treatment, poverty alleviation, hereditary disease treatment, neurodegenerative disease treatment, human enhancement, designer babies … list giant.
More recently, doctors from Oakland, USA, first tested genome editing on a living person. Such a risky step had to be taken because the patient suffered from an incurable genetic disease, Hunter's syndrome. It is too early to talk about the results, but scientists are confident in future success. Another thing is important: the experimental technique is being tested on seriously ill people, which means that development is underway.
It won't come as a surprise to me if in 5-10 years the field of medicine is flooded with a whole stream of genome editing tools and their applications. People will rush to create designer babies, removing unwanted genes, hereditary diseases, changing the color of eyes and hair. Anyone wants their child to be born healthy and happy. There is a high chance that designer babies born in this century will be deprived of many negative factors that manifest themselves in old age, which means their life will be long and healthy.
And more importantly, reaching the stage of 120 and more years of healthy life will mean the opportunity to touch new tools for extending life. The process of renewal of the body and its recovery will become an avalanche, and you may not have to die anymore. You just need to overcome the barrier.
Bionic limbs
It's no secret that the human body is imperfect. It is a masterpiece as a creation of nature, surprising in its complexity and versatility. But the more complex the system, the more opportunities it has for failure. From this point of view, our technical devices are much simpler than natural creations.
It's no secret that the human body is weak and feeble, fragile and devoid of many amazing devices, such as wings. When man wanted to fly, he created an airplane. When a person wants to become taller, stronger, faster, he will create a cyborg.
With the development of science and technology, the question arose in people: why burden themselves with a meat bag, restore an organic limb, when it is possible (to try) to create a bionic, much more adapted, multifunctional and, in principle, no worse than the original one. Already, bionic prostheses are being produced for children and adults, which can be controlled by the power of thought.
For example, LUKEArm is a high-tech prosthesis that allows its wearer to touch. A special motor provides feedback, simulating the resistance of various physical objects - the user can feel that the pillow has less resistance than the brick. Now the device is quite expensive - $ 100,000 - but prices are falling and will continue to fall.
The thought-guided leg was first used by Zach Wouter in 2012, a Seattle-based software engineer who had his leg amputated above the knee. Special prostheses allow athletes to run short and long distances, and it is believed that this gives them an advantage over regular runners.
As prosthetics develops, prostheses become more and more technologically advanced and technologically advanced. The combination of technology and organics creates hands that can touch and grasp, but are stronger than their organic counterparts. Which would you choose: a regular hand or a regular-looking hand with increased strength?
Nanodoctors
Various systems are constantly operating in the human body, but we do not notice this. The intestinal microflora helps to process food. The heart pumps blood, the lungs supply it with oxygen. Immune systems fight against adverse invasions. Cells divide and age, hair grows, the brain consolidates information in a dream … And as we have already said, although the human body is a highly complex and durable organism, over time, its ability to recover fizzles out and even starts to work to the detriment.
But what if we, taking advantage of the possibilities of science and technology, admitted into ourselves another system, large-scale and imperceptible, which would renew the body, maintain it in working order, protect it from the invasion of harmful microbes and renew it? That is, in fact, it would help all body functions to perform their tasks and even more.
Nanorobots are currently being developed primarily for targeted cancer treatments. Tiny, specially engineered bodies injected into the desired area could release the drug, killing cancer cells and leaving healthy cells unharmed. The nanorobots themselves are so small that even a "line" of 50 thousand copies in thickness will hardly be more than a human hair.
Scientists are also trying to reduce the best mechanisms of modern technologies in order to supply nanorobots with them: here are the smallest engines, and 3D printers made of DNA, and nanofins, and nano-rockets, and even wireless technologies. One day a whole army of millions of tiny helpers will work in your body. It is they who, imperceptibly merging with your body, will make it immortal.
Loading consciousness
When a video card burns out in a computer, a power supply breaks down or the motherboard is covered, in the end you can simply remove the drive with memory and put it on another machine. Recently, important data has been stored in the cloud. But what should a person do if he is not a machine (yet)? Is it possible to save the human "I" when the body dies, to transfer the mind and soul to another body, along with consciousness, memories and knowledge? The issue of “hacking” the human brain may well become the biggest and most important issue in this and other centuries. Because it is directly related to immortality - digital, if you will.
Imagine that instead of living long years in one body, a person could reincarnate in another body. Now the field of brain research is in an extremely difficult position, because, according to ethicists, it is simply blasphemous to try to hack it, and no one will ever approve of open tests with a possible fatal outcome.
However, some believe this is inevitable. Elon Musk announced at the beginning of the year the creation of Neuralink, which will work towards fusing the human brain with artificial intelligence and amplifying it multiple times. Musk himself sees this path as an inevitable necessity against the backdrop of a growing information society. Another entrepreneur, Brian Johnson, created Kernel, a company that “ciphers” signals from the human brain to manipulate neurons, fight neurodegenerative diseases, and recall memories.
One day, “saving” the human person in the cloud may well become possible. The only question is when and how to survive.
Deep hibernation
When all means have already been tried, and death is inevitable, extreme measures can be taken. The state of deep suspended animation in both science and science fiction was often viewed as a means of alienating the inevitable. What's the point? Medicine is constantly evolving, and tomorrow there may be methods of treating incurable diseases that did not exist before. But if tomorrow the person does not wake up, it is unlikely that he can be helped. If you immerse your body in a state of deep cryosleep, freeze it until better times, you can give hope that people of the future will find a cure and "resurrect" the sleeping person.
Cold is one of the best ways to preserve organic tissue. Some organisms, from microbes to frogs, can wake up and go about their business after being in extremely cold environments for a long time. This idea seemed convincing enough to the creators of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, which offers cryogenic services. For $ 770 a year, you can sign a contract that rests your body in a coffin filled with liquid nitrogen (if, of course, you can pay another $ 80,000 to preserve the brain or $ 200,000 for the whole body after death).
Immediately after the patient's heart stops, he is transported to an ice bed, and blood circulation and respiration are artificially resumed using a machine. The patient is then given a cocktail of drugs intravenously, including anticoagulants and pH buffers. The blood is then pumped out and replaced with an organ preservation solution.
There is no guarantee that this will work. But death does not guarantee anything either. In the end, everyone can choose how to die. But someone will choose never to die.
Ilya Khel