New Drugs May Extend Our Lifespan to 150 Years

[Makhiel]

Okay, people stop working and get a pension at 65 (67 or 68 is also possible in certain countries).
Am I the only one seeing huge problems here?

If this new drug hits the market will we need to alter the age at which you get your pension to 100?
And if so, people that don't that that drug or don't have enough money for it, will they still be allowed to stop working at 65?

So let's do the math.
An average person starts working at 18.
He stops at 65.
that means up until he hit 65 he has worked 47 years of his life.
And then he still has 85 years of pension to look forward to!

Okay.. that's nuts!

They can change the laws you know. And they will - in forty years (which is when I'll be 65) the age of retirement will be higher drug or no drug.

People seem the think that that stuff will magically add 70 years to your lifespan. Obviously it cannot work that way. If you start taking it young then you're going to live to 150, if you start taking it when you're 50 then you'll maybe reach 120, if you start at the age of 90 then you got extra 10 years or so (not really worth it at that time, is it?). At least that's how it looks from here.

 

[Denamic]

Even if they were able to halt the physical and mental degeneration process, this prospect terrifies me. We're already killing each other over dwindling resources, people - how exactly would the additional massive surge of overpopulation resulting from such a drug help in that regard?

Because we already have the technology and means to supply the planet with food and power.
But no, we have to eat 'biological' foods, nuclear power is scary and solar panels are too expensive.

 

[Noko]

From what i recently read in science illustrated (rpesuming it is the same as the norwegian) one has managed to halt/revers the age, but there was a giant if in this whole case. That is was cancer. In the lab rat test they had not found any cancerus cells, but still. Do you really want to take the risk at this stage?

 

[Darks63]

The idea of having to work for potentially 120 years scares me id rather just die normally.

 

[Phas]

Even if they were able to halt the physical and mental degeneration process, this prospect terrifies me. We're already killing each other over dwindling resources, people - how exactly would the additional massive surge of overpopulation resulting from such a drug help in that regard?

Because we already have the technology and means to supply the planet with food and power.
But no, we have to eat 'biological' foods, nuclear power is scary and solar panels are too expensive.

Well, humans dislike progress for whatever reason.

 

[Phas]

Point number 3: Once again, I'll use the word I used a the start of the article: narcissism. That's what this comes down to. We're so arrogant as a species, we can't comprehend the idea that the planet might continue without us. Indeed, the planet would probably be better off without us, considering all that we've done to fuck it up. Through medical means, we've already managed to increase our life expectancies by over double. Why is that not enough? Are we so arrogant as a species that we think one day death itself won't apply to us? We're part of a natural cycle: we're born, we live, and then we die and make room for the next generation.

Man, I don't think humanity gives a crap about if nature can survive without us or not, and all living creatures are narcissistic to some degree, doesn't matter how nice you are to other people, and shut up about that damn narcissism, narcissists wouldn't give a crap either way.

 

[The Great JT]

Looking at this, I am reminded by something a character (Piers, for the curious) said in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. And that was this:

There is still death in Lemuria. It comes to those whose organs have failed after centuries of use.

Perhaps I should elaborate on this. In the Golden Sun games, Lemuria is a sometimes-spoken of place, to the point it's practically a myth, where everyone is immortal. In the second game, it's revealed that not only does the place exist, getting there is very complicated (and downright annoying if you don't know what you're doing) and while everyone lives for hundreds of years, it's mostly because of a special draught (a potion, essentially) that prolongs life. Eventually, though, it seems people in Lemuria do die, it's just the leading cause of death isn't injury or disease, but long-term organ failure.

The point I'm struggling to make is, quite simply, could this be what eventually becomes of the human race?

 

[Phas]

Looking at this, I am reminded by something a character (Piers, for the curious) said in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. And that was this:

There is still death in Lemuria. It comes to those whose organs have failed after centuries of use.

Perhaps I should elaborate on this. In the Golden Sun games, Lemuria is a sometimes-spoken of place, to the point it's practically a myth, where everyone is immortal. In the second game, it's revealed that not only does the place exist, getting there is very complicated (and downright annoying if you don't know what you're doing) and while everyone lives for hundreds of years, it's mostly because of a special draught (a potion, essentially) that prolongs life. Eventually, though, it seems people in Lemuria do die, it's just the leading cause of death isn't injury or disease, but long-term organ failure.

The point I'm struggling to make is, quite simply, could this be what eventually becomes of the human race?

I would think humanity is smart enough to deal with the issue of long-term organ failure before it really becomes a extinction level problem.

 

[MercurySteam]

The Time Lords are shaking their heads and laughing at us. We don't even have two hearts yet!

 

[coolkirb]

Think about how much lonnger school will become if we live that long................some people could be in school till their 60

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I'd be cool with this if population control wasn't a problem already. We don't need the planet overflowing with even more people who won't die.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

I would think humanity is smart enough to deal with the issue of long-term organ failure before it really becomes a extinction level problem.

Well, only with ANOTHER drug:

It's amazing how humanity just keeps pumping out the cures.

 

[LordXel]

I think this is good news and bad news. On the bad news side of things, this will definitely mess up with one person dying because of it. On the positive side this is one step futher to immortality! A small step forward maybe but a step forward none the less.

 

[kebab4you]

IF this would work we sure as hell need to retire a lot later then 65, maybe 110 or so. Or more likely it would perhaps be used for space travel.

 

[band43seat]

i think this is a bad idea, the fact of the matter is that people need to die, if we keep expanding our lifespans, then will suffer 2 problems at once, over population and starvation. we are already running out of resources, and if we dont do something drastic soon, we will wipe out most life on this planet. to be honest, science shouldnt be trying to extend our lifespan and cure all diseases, what it should be doing is trying to convert are remaining resources into renewable. i get that people dont want to die, but think of what would happen if people didnt,imagine if some of the worst people in history didnt die

 

[lacktheknack]

<remembers horrific extended death of grandmother that had little to do with aging and more to do with her near-inability to die>

...I'll pass.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

If this becomes actually true and widespread, then the whole human race will have to take up new birth control. We'll have to stop making 3 or more kids and only make at most 2. Although think about it, this might stop a lot of people wasting and using the excuse "I wont be around to see the consequences" which would probably make people use less resources.

 

[Agow95]

Woo! and maybe by the time I'm 150, there will be ways to live even longer! (alot can happen in 135 years) Imagine that, everytime you get within a decade of dying, scientists manage to pull another century out of there arses. and we'll stay younger for those extra years, so it won't be me beingn ancient going on mythical