New Technologies

[Grok]

NIH also has an article about parthenogenesis-"virgin birth." A female reproduces without mating with a male. A form of asexual reproduction, though differing from cloning because there is some reshuffling of genes.

The article was too technical for me to follow, so I am not linking to it. Near the end of the article it was suggested that this might be developed to create new organisms. If this could be made to work in a woman, the result would be a baby girl.

[Coder]

How about GPT-augmented robot pets?

https://youtu.be/djzOBZUFzTw?si=vbwcEIbGdhpCwN7J

[Grok]

Cool, Coder!

[rode_kater]

In effect, going from Star Trek to the movie Her.

Honestly, Her was one of the best films I've ever seen. I went in with no expectation and was blown away. It's only become more actual as time goes along (though the ending I think is unlikely to come to pass).

[Grok]

Yes, rode_kater, Her is evolving from science fiction into science fact.

New possibilities have been opening up. We seem to be in transition towards a new era, and the two main fields that are/will be changing society are:

1. A multi-faceted Information Revolution.

2. Bio-technology.

Regarding Information technology, we have already seen a lot of change. We may be in for even more change. Consider the thread regarding the return of the analog electronic computer.

Biotechnology? Several aspects that were once science fiction have become fact. Examples:

1. In vitro fertilization for human reproduction.

2. Genetic engineering-the direct manipulation of genetic material. Became possible with recombinant DNA, which is useful for pharmaceutical industry.

3. Cloning of mammals.

Consider a society where IT meets Brave New World.

[Grok]

Jeanne Calment. Longest verified human life, at a bit more than 122 years. This individual would not be one in a million, but rather, one in a billion. I suspect that she reached the absolute limit.

[Midas]

Jeanne Calment. Longest verified human life, at a bit more than 122 years. This individual would not be one in a million, but rather, one in a billion. I suspect that she reached the absolute limit.

So far.

[Grok]

Discussion of longevity drugs.

[Grok]

Scroll down towards bottom.... Extending life span by expanding health span.

[Grok]

First came across a couple theoretical possibilities discussed in Maximum Lifespan, by Roy Walford. Tested in lab animals, such as rats.

1. Undernutrition (Not malnutrition). Also known as caloric restriction. The diet includes adequate amounts vitamins and proteins, but is deficient in calories. Resulting in something like near starvation, rather like a person might experience during a famine. This was effective if started during the youth of an animal.

2. Cooling down the body temperature. Effective if started during what would be the second half of an animal's life.

These two concepts were examined in more detail in Secrets of Life Extension by John A. Mann. To summarize, undernutrition is too dangerous to try on humans. As for cooling, I noticed that the author skipped over the perils of hypothermia.

According to Mann, Walford estimated a maximum human lifespan:

1. At present, about a century with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius (the classic 98.6 degree Fahrenheit).

2. A drop down to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) was estimated to result in a maximum lifespan of 150 years. This low temperature is considered a medical emergency.

Did come across one encouraging reference-sometimes a normal healthy adult can be okay at a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit). Don't know how long this might extend an individual's lifespan. As an individual's temperature tends to vary by half a degree over a twenty-four period, a reset of the human thermostat (located in the hypothalamus) might be lower than 96 degrees Fahrenheit, but should be significantly above 95 degrees F.

There is a concept of lowering body temperature with drugs, but how long would it take for the body to become habituated to a drug?

[Grok]

I recall a magazine article that described your 80th birth day as the Fragility Barrier. After that, you are living on borrowed time.

Don't recall seeing that term again, but many articles, in effect, recognize the significance of that birthday when discussing the infirmities-and mortality-of the elderly. Most articles focus on specifics. Here is an article that describes the exponential decline in survival after 80. Using the curve, the author can predict, for example, that no one will survive to the age of 130.

Personally, I favor the space probe comparison. An automated space probe is designed to function well long enough to complete its mission. Sometimes probes, such as the Voyager probes, can still send data back when it is past its designed life span. But the equipment become more and more prone to break down. (Come to think of it, you could compare new cars and old cars).

With cave men/women, there was the thing with long childhoods. Parents needed to live long enough to raise kids with long childhoods. Grandparents could help with this task, as well as being the experienced elders of the tribe. An average life span of 80 years was sufficient.

[Grok]

Animal data can be interesting.

Based on records of individual animals, it is known that a tortoise can survive up to 150 years in a zoo.

As for mammals, some scientists think that the Bowhead Whale may have a maximum lifespan that extends a bit past 200 years. With fantastic claims, one wants corroborating evidence. (NIH has an article about this in regards to Jeanne Calment).

In the case of one Bowhead, there were two different types of physical evidence that indicated that the individual survived to at least 130 years.

[Grok]

Discussion of drug therapies. If effective, a therapy would post pone the fragility barrier by extending health span.

[Myopic Bookworm]

With cave men/women, there was the thing with long childhoods. Parents needed to live long enough to raise kids with long childhoods. Grandparents could help with this task, as well as being the experienced elders of the tribe. An average life span of 80 years was sufficient.

I don't think the average human lifespan has ever been near 80. If cavemen were able to breed at 16, they were potentially grandparents at 32, and even if they hung around to look after younger grandchildren, they'd be on the way out at 60. But in purely utilitarian terms being viable beyond 80 wasn't really an advantage: your usefulness in childcare would be outweighed by your requirement for food and care.

[rode_kater]

With cave men/women, there was the thing with long childhoods. Parents needed to live long enough to raise kids with long childhoods. Grandparents could help with this task, as well as being the experienced elders of the tribe. An average life span of 80 years was sufficient.

Before the invention of agriculture, human's moved to where the food was. Whenever an old person could no longer keep up with the tribe, they were left behind. That how wild animals live now still. It's only later we made it possible to get old without holding back the entire tribe.

I don't care so much about the number of years I live, as long as I'm healthy enough to actually live them, rather than being stuck in a wheelchair.