Monday, September 18, 2006

Entrepreneur Backs Research on Anti-aging

Pay-Pal founder Peter Thiel gives a weird-beard hippy $3.5 million--From the SF Chronic BAY AREA / Entrepreneur backs research on anti-aging / Scientist says humans could live indefinitely: "A controversial scientist who hopes to help humans live for thousands of years has received a multimillion-dollar grant from a Bay Area entrepreneur. "

However, this does goes to show that Barnum was right: there's still one born every minute!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So he's got a beard.

To elevate the debate a bit - are you suggesting that progress in genetics/biochemistry/physiology will soon stall ? That's your implication - we will never gain enough of an understanding of cellular process to be able to mitigate the various processes of aging. Unlikely I think.

It's a matter of when, not whether. De Grey advocates a targeted approach to aging research, rather than the scattershot current approach. And this could reel in the date when non-snake oil treatments become available.

Even under current busienss-as-usual conditions life expectancy continues to rise, surprising demographers and actuaries. At stake here is the gradient of the curve, not its existence

Diligent Blogger said...

This isn't a debate, it's an idle past time.

What I am saying is once again another rich fool has been taken in by the hope of living forever. History abounds with similar examples. The rich and powerful are the most gullible because their boundless egos make them believe that they should and will live forever.

The once heady expectations of genetics research have been scaled back except in the popular press, and I expect much the same will happen in the other research fields. Diminishing results are also part of the curve.

Growing old and dying is what all of us can expect, and there is no secret to having a healthy and meaningful life: it involves a sense of purpose, daily work, and being engaged with our friends and relatives. Any other type of life is simply not worth living, no matter how many years it may encompass.