jakey_303 wrote

WAD3 wrote

Rapt wrote I briefly talked about this is a post a while back so I'm just going to quote that...

A very smart physicist, Richard Feynman once said, "There is nothing in biology yet found that indicates the inevitability of death. This suggests to me that it is not at all inevitable and that it is only a matter of time before biologists discover what it is that is causing us the trouble and that this terrible universal disease or temporariness of the humans body will be cured."

While I do believe it is possible to live forever it will not be possible for a long time. In the book I'm reading, "Physics of the Future" it should be possible by the turn of the century. (2100)

Which is kind of sad because if you think about it, we might be some of the last people on Earth to die of old age.

Assuming its released to the public.

Unfortunately true immortality actually breaks the second law of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics is very confusing, so I would advise you not to try and read into it, however it boils down to a very basic and core fact, that everything must die.

Extension of human life is a very possible outcome in the advancements we are making in human biology, but true immortality? No.

Even if we could stop our bodies from ageing, it would come down to that eventually, the very atoms that make up our body would die, this being a very very slow process, but however would happen.

Furthermore, I would disagree with the use of such technologies, if they ever were created, to extend human life by the amount people are talking about. Extending human life would not just require us to stop the ageing process, but prevent us from contracting health issues such as the most prevalent killer, cancer. These factors together would reduce the amount of deaths every year by millions, and would cause our already over populated planet, in certain areas, to skyrocket.

In my personal opinion, extending life like this would do far more harm than good. However of course it would not be up to us to decide whether it would be beneficial toi use it or not, if a technology such as this was found.

Immortalization of human cells is often associated with reactivation of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that adds TTAGGG repeats onto telomeres and compensates for their shortening. We examined whether telomerase activation is necessary for immortalization. All normal human fibroblasts tested were negative for telomerase activity. Thirteen out of 13 DNA tumor virus-transformed cell cultures were also negative in the pre-crisis (i.e. non-immortalized) stage. Of 35 immortalized cell lines, 20 had telomerase activity as expected, but 15 had no detectable telomerase. The 15 telomerase-negative immortalized cell lines all had very long and heterogeneous telomeres of up to 50 kb. Hybrids between telomerase-negative and telomerase-positive cells senesced. Two senescent hybrids demonstrated telomerase activity, indicating that activation of telomerase is not sufficient for immortalization. Some hybrid clones subsequently recommenced proliferation and became immortalized either with or without telomerase activity. Those without telomerase activity also had very long and heterogeneous telomeres. Taken together, these data suggest that the presence of lengthened or stabilized telomeres is necessary for immortalization, and that this may be achieved either by the reactivation of telomerase or by a novel and as yet unidentified mechanism.

Well I'm not quite sure what your point is, let alone that that was completely copy and pasted (but of course you did not say it wasn't copy and pasted so I'm not hating)

However I am well aware of branches of research in telomerase, I read a paper a few weeks ago on research into telomerase. However research into the activity of telomerase and how it effects our cells is not centered around research into immortality. The whole reason that research into telomerase began was due to the high levels of this enzyme in the cells of naked mole rats, and the fact that it is suggested that these high concentrations go some way into answering why naked mole rats appear to be impervious to cancer, and their longevity for small rodent-like mammals.

To sum everything up!

AS time goes on we will live longer but no we will not become
immortal we will just like longer!

RatedG wrote No Humans can't become immortal we are all going to die
one day.

That is a very unimaginative response.

Yes, humans will eventually become immortal. Because we can grow bones and skin, we will fin d out how to grow hearts and other vital organs.

EDIT: There are already animals that are immortal.
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AtH1337 wrote

RatedG wrote No Humans can't become immortal we are all going to die
one day.

That is a very unimaginative response.

Yes, humans will eventually become immortal. Because we can grow bones and skin, we will fin d out how to grow hearts and other vital organs.

EDIT: There are already animals that are immortal.
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People keep quoting this jellyfish. Unfortunately it is, relative to our bodies, quite a basic organism. The parts of it body it regrows once it's reverted itself back to a polyp are quite basic, this is basically just an extension from the way that certain lizards can regrow limbs.

This will not help us become immortal, and never will.

Thanks for the informative posts. +Rep
I posted giving an alligator as an example of immortality or at least very long life-spans
but it's arguable, there is no clear evidence or even as to how it is possible for it to live that long.

From what I know it is now clear to me that there is only one known way of living longer
and that is decreasing the metabolic rate. Us humans can live longer if our calorie intake is 30% less
and live the rest of our life's in a semi-starved state because our bodies learn to work less hard on the reduced amount of calories,
we live 30% longer just like naked mole rats.

Quote from Wiki on Naked Mole Rats:
"The reason for their longevity is debated, but is thought to be related to their ability to substantially reduce their metabolism during hard times,
and so prevent aging-induced damage from oxidative stress."

I still stand by what I said though.
"Not sure of it ever being possible while remaining a Homo sapien, simply because I don't think we are built for it.
Maybe in an other 250,000 years of evolution or maybe in an other 10,000 of technological advancements it may be possible.
Immortality is no easy feint though."

WAD3 wrote

AtH1337 wrote

RatedG wrote No Humans can't become immortal we are all going to die
one day.

That is a very unimaginative response.

Yes, humans will eventually become immortal. Because we can grow bones and skin, we will fin d out how to grow hearts and other vital organs.

EDIT: There are already animals that are immortal.
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People keep quoting this jellyfish. Unfortunately it is, relative to our bodies, quite a basic organism. The parts of it body it regrows once it's reverted itself back to a polyp are quite basic, this is basically just an extension from the way that certain lizards can regrow limbs.

This will not help us become immortal, and never will.

i get you're point and i do accept it but we wont become immortal but we could have very long lives.

I don't think its possible, Humans have to die its life and I think being immortal would suck because you have to watch your whole family, friends, kids, girlfriend etc... die.

Reckon wrote I don't think its possible, Humans have to die its life and I think being immortal would suck because you have to watch your whole family, friends, kids, girlfriend etc... die.

Same it would really hurt seeing all then die and you just suffer

My 'philosophy' is that with the other 85% of our brains we could. Also with self-healing at extreme speeds, maybe even Telekinesis, or some kind of super power. ^.^

CMon321 wrote My 'philosophy' is that with the other 85% of our brains we could. Also with self-healing at extreme speeds, maybe even Telekinesis, or some kind of super power. ^.^

That's said to be a myth, about only using %20 of the brain.
We use all of our brain but only use %20 at any one time.

Who knows though?
We don't know all that much about our brain and that's why Obama has invested.
100 million dollars to neurologists recently.