My dad died at about 70 years of age after a long, painful battle with aging and disease. I was devastated! Also, I lost my best friend, suddenly; he was less than 30 years of age–it was traumatic! My mum died too…I was shattered! We don’t only hate death for snatching our loved ones from us, but, also the fact that it, sometimes, takes them away while they are still quite young. We love having a long and strong life. We imagine living forever–forever young!
Scientists work with laws, like the law of “cause and effect”. If you want to remove an unwanted effect, try removing the cause (of the effect). This is the logic: if we can remove the immediate causes of death, we can prolong life–from few decades into centuries, and as God supplies the wisdom, indefinitely! Dying at 200 years of age would then be considered dying early!
Contrary to what you may believe, immortality is not a strange idea! In nature, there are certain living things that have the ability to live forever! In fact, the human brain was designed to live forever; our body just spoils the plan by dying too early! We see immortality in microorganisms, bacteria, hydra, a certain specie of jellyfish, lobsters, and flatworms. We are carefully studying how they are able to live without dying, and hoping to apply the same processes and principles in humans.
This is not wishful thinking. With our current level of technology, we have been able to drastically extend the lifespan of animals, tissues, and cells by using some of these scientific theories and models. We are currently working on gaining more knowledge and developing technologies (and machines) to help us achieve this in humans.
We plan to deal with the immediate causes of death– aging, disease, and trauma–thereby prolonging life, and hopefully, someday, in the future, achieving immortality too!
Without weighing you down with too much of all the scientific terms and jaw-breaking words, I will simply state 8 of the several plans and approaches we are working on.
#1. We plan to slow down or reverse the process of ageing (or getting old)–and prevent age-related diseases like cerebrovascular disease. We now know how ageing happens, and we are experimenting with various ways to halt the process or, at least, slow it down. And some of these approaches are already working with lower animals! Thank God!
#2. We are working to prevent cell death, prevent DNA damage, and prevent the inability of cells to divide (from exhaustion). Cancer cells, stem cells, and germ cells exhibit all these–and they live on and on, multiplying, regenerating– and we are studying them. We will get there–just watch…and pray!
#3. We plan to use tissue engineering, molecular repair, and organ replacement for damaged and dying cells, tissues, and organs. This is where stem-cell technology and cloning become especially important. So, do you have a bad heart, liver, or kidneys? Or is your entire body crushed in an accident? Keep calm–we will repair or replace it! Simply ask–and it is given!
#4. We will employ nanomedicine, where we will be able to use programmed, computerised, microscopic nano-robots injected into the body system to repair all damaged cells, and carry out genetic manipulation and other micro-procedures. It is like a corrective micro-microsurgery, all intended to give you a brand new body–as if you were just born again!
#5. We plan to utilize cryonics (and cryopreservation). This, loosely put, is the use of low (cold) temperature to temporary suspend dying processes and preserve damaged, diseased, or dead human body till an appropriate medical solution is instituted. The healed and repaired “frozen” body is then “melted” and brought back to full life–a kind of scientific resurrection!
#6. We preach lifestyle modification (including diet, exercise, avoiding smoking, and so on). This will help handle several diseases including cancers and cerebrovascular disease. We teach on the importance of calorie restriction and the practice of intermittent fasting. These are proven ways to achieve significant lifespan extension.
#7. We advocate for societal redesign to eradicate accident and minimise injury. Futurists have already designed transportation systems–with modified roads and vehicles–where there will be complete eradication of Road Traffic Accidents; housing systems that will contain earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and natural disasters; and a society where occupational hazards and injuries is a history! This is simply Heaven on Earth, isn’t it?!
#8. We are working towards the complete eradication of infectious diseases, genetic manipulation for metabolic and inherited diseases, high-tech surgeries (using robotics and cybernetics), improvement of healthcare services, and revolution in the pharmaceutical world. It is possible–only believe!
We are not here talking about using anti-ageing creams and other cosmetic products! No, we are talking about making cellular and metabolic changes to stop ageing, repair damaged tissues, and ultimately, prolong life. It is not just about changing the outside, but a having an inside-out change–a real, lasting change. Defeating death, the last enemy.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”