Every day 100,000 people die of old age on our planet. It would seem that this is a natural process inherent in human nature. Death from old age is inevitable, as is the change of seasons.
However, almost daily in the media there are statements from various scientists about the possibility of eternal life. Will humanity be able to find a recipe for longevity in the near future, or will eternal life remain a dream? Russian businessman calls for investing in immortality.
The Russian multimillionaire asks big business to finance his project, the main goal of which is to achieve human immortality by 2045. 32-year-old Dmitry Itskov believes in the success of his business and hopes to receive big money for research and development of technologies that would allow living for 300 years. In the long term, this project provides for eternal life.
The key element of this idea is the creation of an artificial body or a human robot, into which human consciousness or a human brain will be transferred. The non-profit organization Initiative 2045, founded by Itskov, is creating a research center for the development of human immortality.
Last year, Itskov reached out to Forbes billionaires to give people eternal life. For this, it was only necessary to fund research in the field of an artificial body and cybernetic immortality. So far Itskov has not been supported by anyone, but he was able to achieve fame: his project is covered by many world media. This summer Itskov is going to address the entire global business community.
His organization will host the second Global Future 2045 Congress, at which leading scientists, entrepreneurs and engineers will discuss new technologies to extend human life. During the convention, Itskov will try to convince businesses to invest in immortality, as this is a great business opportunity. Large investments are needed for the production of robot bodies, remote control systems, interfaces that allow the human brain to control a robot, and life support systems for the brain of an artificial body. Itskov understands that his project causes skepticism and distrust in some people. However, he said, long-term solutions and evolutionary changes are needed for the human race to survive.
Eternal life in facts
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How many times in fairy tales have we read about rejuvenating apples, dead and living water, vats of boiling butter and milk, plunging into which the heroes became young. But there are also real facts of eternal youth.
So, from the book "Genesis" of the Old Testament, we learn that Adam lived 930 years, and his son Seth - 912 years. Adam had a son when he was 105 years old. Indian hermits and Chinese monks lived up to 400 years thanks to secret methods. At the beginning of the 20th century, in a Tomsk hospital, a man presented documents that confirmed that he was over 200 years old. An incident similar to a fairy tale happened to the Indian long-liver Tapaswiji, who lived for more than 180 years. Once at the foot of the Himalayan mountains he met a hermit who spoke ancient Indian Sanskrit. The hermit was over 5,000 years old. The secret of his longevity consisted in a strict diet, as well as taking a special potion, the secret of the preparation of which he carefully kept. These facts confirm the possibility, if not eternal, then a very long life on Earth.
The scientific question of eternal life
The question of eternal life has long troubled humanity. Hoping to get an answer to it, people habitually turn their eyes towards science. According to American scientists, the reason for our so short life is the instinct for reproduction. If a person did not have a system for self-reproduction, most likely, in his development he would move to a new level, allowing him to live for centuries, replacing old organs with new ones. This mode of existence is characteristic of the jellyfish species Turritopsis nutricula. In the body of a jellyfish, cells are converted from one type to another. This process can be repeated endlessly, which allows this species to be immortal.
Recent theoretical developments by the leading British gerontologist, Professor Aubrey de Gray, indicate that humanity is on the verge of immortality. The professor is convinced that microbiological science in the next 30-40 years will be able to guarantee a thousand-year duration of human life. “Already now,” says the gerontologist, “we have the ability to extend human life for hundreds of years, and similar experiments are already taking place on animals. In 5 years, they will be carried out on humans, and by about 2030, the aging of the human body will be blocked.”
According to Professor de Gray, the first person who can live to a thousand years has already been born. Many scientists argue that the human body does not have a genetic program at all, which provides for aging and death. They believe that the aging process is caused solely by cellular changes that accumulate and lead to death.
However, in the era of the microbiological revolution, it is possible to stop the process of cellular mutations with the help of the latest biotechnological developments that can renew the human body with some regularity, bringing youth. Thus, in the future, people will be able to regularly update their own physical condition. How do scientists intend to defeat old age? Studies in mice have shown that this can be done by blocking cell division, as well as removing harmful inclusions from it. The lost cells will be replaced with new ones, which will prevent chromosome mutation. Stem cell therapy will be able to renew human organs, and such experiments are already underway.
How to prolong life?
Modern biologists have developed over 300 hypotheses about aging and death. To rejuvenate the body, scientists have come up with even more theories. We list only a small part.
- More hormones. British physiologist Ernest Starling isolated testosterone in 1905, called the "hormone of eternal youth." There was no rejuvenation, but scientists are still looking for the secrets of eternal life in hormones.
-Starvation. The author of the popular theory of therapeutic fasting, Paul Bragg, believed that only periodic complete fasting would help prolong life. The author of the theory died at the age of 95 while surfing.
- Testicular (testicular) transplant. Dr. Sergei Voronov, the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky, transplanted the testicles and seminal glands of monkeys to patients who yearned to get younger.
- Grounding. The aircraft designer Alexander Mikulin believed that all human troubles were caused by static electricity, so during sleep he was necessarily grounded with special metal parts. - Winter swimming and vegetarianism. Porfiry Ivanov, the author of the popular hardening theory, recommended that everyone swim in the ice hole, walk barefoot and eat only vegetables. Porfiry himself died at the age of 85.
- lengthen telomeres. Alexey Olovnikov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, is sure that the end portions of chromosomes - telomeres, which shorten with each cell division, are responsible for life expectancy. You can live forever if you figure out how to prevent it.
- Kill the radicals. Academician Skulachev believes that free radicals are responsible for aging, which cause damage in DNA cells. Now the scientist is developing an antioxidant drug that could neutralize radicals.
- Cloning. Professor Stephen Minger from London is convinced that only cloning can give a person immortality, because with its help it will be possible to replace worn-out "originals" with cloned organs.
Is eternal life necessary?
Much has been said about eternal life. Perhaps someday this will become a reality. But each person must ask himself, why should he live forever? Indeed, even King Solomon refused the elixir of longevity offered to him, saying that he did not want to live when all his loved ones died. And Solomon was a wise man …
