The average life expectancy is constantly increasing. We are constantly improving our knowledge of medicine and the human body. We have eradicated many diseases, discovered powerful treatments, and figured out how to contain diseases that could one day kill us.
We are trying to maintain life in people for longer and longer, thereby bringing us closer to one of the analogues of immortality - regardless of whether it is biological, digital or cybernetic immortality. Let's take a look at technologies that will help us achieve unlimited lifespan.
Blood factories
Blood is so essential to our survival that the epithet "blood" has come to mean necessity. Excessive blood loss means life can be cut short, which is why blood transfusion has become an important medical tool.
However, there are two main problems associated with blood transfusion. First, other people must donate blood, which means that there is always a shortage. Secondly, everyone has different blood types, and transfusing the wrong blood type will attack the immune system and develop terrible complications.
Science has managed to solve both of these problems by making red blood cells of the universal O-type (which can be passed on to anyone without complications). This is the first time such blood has been produced in a laboratory, and this could lead to the end of donor transfusions and the start of industrial production of blood.
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Growing body parts
There are several common themes in science fiction, some of which are highly plausible. When we see interstellar travel, alien life, food pills, we can imagine their potential impact on human life. But some things seem crazy to us - like growing body parts in a laboratory. Such organs not only look anatomically correct, but also work well. What have we done on this basis? Well, the vagina and nostrils have been successfully transplanted.
Recently, all the media wrote about how, for the first time in history, a woman who was born without a vagina - or whose vagina was incomplete - was transplanted a laboratory-grown analog. The woman was observed for eight years before scientists were able to state success.
During all this time, the woman and her new organ functioned completely normally, without adverse side effects. Patients who have lost some of their noses due to skin cancer also received new noses grown from their skin cells.
Paralysis reversal
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating injuries, after experiencing which a person still does not guarantee a complete recovery. The spinal cord transmits information to every part of the body, so injuries to this area almost always lead to paralysis, complete or partial. People remain limited in movement for life, not to mention pain.
Pioneering research into the role of electrical impulses in the nerve tissue of the spine has allowed scientists to return the ability to move to people who would have remained paralyzed for life. Patients participating in the study were able to move previously paralyzed body parts after exposure to electrical impulses to the spinal cord.
In combination with traditional physiotherapy, the results were even more interesting. One day, hundreds of thousands of people unable to walk will again be able to move their feet on the ground on their own.
Reversing the aging process
Following in the footsteps of their skincare contemporaries and fashion trends, a team of scientists have discovered a chemical in the blood of young people that can have significant effects on the body in old age.
It wasn't one fleeting study - three separate groups came to the same conclusions in experiments with mice. The study found that young blood transfusions reversed age-related impairment in memory, learning, brain function, muscle strength and endurance.
Two of the groups even claimed to have identified one chemical that was responsible for this age reversal effect. Since the study was conducted in mice, it remains unclear whether the result will be identical in humans, but scientists are confident it will. Clinical trials will begin within a few years and could potentially pave the way for real injections for aging.
Next-generation drug control
No matter how far we go in the role of humans, incredible forgetfulness and elementary laziness accompany us constantly. Medication has become an extremely important part of the health of many people, and for some, forgetting to take medications can be fatal.
However, along with the development, which may seem incredible to some, and frightening to others, an electronic system will appear that will monitor your medication intake. Tiny sensors and beacons tell you when to take a pill so you know you'll never miss a single one.
If you don't like constant surveillance, there are other benefits. The system can simply track the body’s response to certain medications, giving you and your doctor information about how your body responds when something goes wrong.
New heart
The heart and its well-being are the key to a long and fulfilling life. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in many parts of the world, not AIDS or cancer. Every few seconds one person in the world dies from heart disease.
However, scientists recently transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a baboon, and it worked correctly for a year. This study has inspired the medical world with the hope that one day animals will be able to provide an infinite supply of hearts and other organs for humans, significantly increasing their lifespan.
Reducing stroke-related disability
Strokes are terrible and often deadly. In cases where they do not kill, they can leave a person unable to perform even simple actions, significantly affecting his quality of life. Independence and autonomy almost always end, and people cannot control their bodies as they used to. Previously, such people could hardly be helped by doctors. However, scientists are now using a revolutionary new procedure to treat such dire disorders.
By injecting stem cells into the patients' brains, the researchers were able to restore the ability to move their limbs and perform tasks that were previously impossible. The people involved in the experiment see it as an encouraging sign for stroke victims.
Seal of a new heart
We are already accustomed to the importance of maintaining the work of the heart and caring for it, the possibility of organ transplantation to support human life is also important for us. A special breakthrough in this area happened with the development of 3D printing.
Some in the industry speculate that the first bionic heart will be printed within the next ten years. A group of scientists from the University of Louisiana have already taken serious steps towards fulfilling this prediction.
Using fat cells and collagen, the team was able to print the working components of the human heart. They use the analogy of an airplane - a complex machine is made piece by piece and then assembled - to explain why they simply cannot take and print a whole heart, and why it needs to be assembled piece by piece. But with the possibility of partial printing, ten years looks like a very reasonable time.
Bionic arms
Ever since the first cyborgs appeared in science fiction, scientists have been looking for a way to create bionic body parts. This would improve the lives of amputees immeasurably, and every bit of research brings us closer to understanding the complex communication systems between our brains and our muscles. And it looks like all these efforts are finally beginning to bear fruit. DEKA - Brain Pulse-Controlled Arm Prosthesis is not an ordinary addition, it is a real miracle.
Invented by the same man who invented the Segway, the hand can perform such subtle and graceful actions as buttoning a jacket, holding an egg without crushing it, unlocking doors with a key, and much more that people with ordinary working hands sometimes cannot do. The bionic arm is also easily adaptable, that is, it is suitable for people whose arms are amputated at the shoulder, at the elbow or at the wrist.
Anabiosis
There is one word in science fiction that scientists don't like very much. This is suspended animation. Leading surgeons prefer to refer to it as a “conservation and resuscitation emergency,” although they admit that it puts life on hold. Not so long ago, we wrote about the resolution of the first clinical trials of true suspended animation.
The patient's blood is replaced with a cold saline solution, which causes something like hypothermia, slowing all cellular activity in half. Surgeons get more time to fix the problem. In theory, such a procedure can save more than one life. According to the inventor of the technique, Peter Rea, patients do not have to live during the procedure, but they will not die.
In 2000, Rea demonstrated this technique on pigs, and it worked. The pigs suffered from massive hemorrhages, and then they were put into suspended animation and "brought back to life." In most cases, their hearts started beating again and their cognitive or physical function was not affected. Now Ri is waiting for a suitable candidate among the people. They are changing the definition of death.