The Death of Death

The duration of human life—longevity—is influenced by genetics, the environment, and our lifestyles. Environmental improvements beginning in the 1900s extended the average life span dramatically with significant improvements in the availability of food, clean water, better living conditions, reduced exposure to infectious diseases, and access to medical care.

The study of longevity genes is a developing science. It is estimated that about 25% of the variation in human life span is determined by genetics, but which genes, and how they contribute to longevity, are not well understood… yet! Once they are understood, might we see the death of death?

To talk about this issue, I was joined on the podcast by director of the Millennium Project, futurist, transhumanist, and author José Cordeiro back to the podcast.

We considered the notion of considering ageing as a curable condition, the difference between stopping ageing and rejuvenation, the consequences of stopping and reversing ageing, and the role that technology is playing in research and will play in the future.

Listen to the podcast on YouTube by clicking below or on Spotify’s Anchor platform. 

You can learn more about José and his work by connecting with him as follows:

Email jose_cordeiro@yahoo.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/josecordeiro
Twitter twitter.com/cordeiro
Facebook facebook.com/josecordeiro2045
Website cordeiro.org
Blog josecordeiro2019.blogspot.com

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/beyond-death-life-after-death-1087922

Informing Choices Mini-Pod - The Future of Ageing

The recent BBC Ideas video “How safe is it to hack the ageing process?” is an interesting indication that the notion of managing, delaying, or even stopping the ageing process is becoming mainstream. The idea of immortality has been a dream for many people for as long as humanity has existed, but what is the reality of anti-ageing approaches and technologies? Are we really on the cusp of being able to cure ageing?

To consider the future of ageing, my Guest David Wood and I considered:

• How soon might biohacking to slow the ageing process become mainstream?
• What are the main technological innovations we might see?
• Are there challenges in how we might consider the therapeutic benefits of these technologies versus the cosmetic use of them?
• This feels like a group of technologies that potentially challenge our traditional notions of being human but then again, aren't these developments a continuation of what we have been doing for years to lengthen our lives?
• How might we imagine these technologies might come to market in the future?

You can listen to the podcast on You Tube by clicking below or on the Anchor podcast platform here. 

You can learn more about David and his work on LinkedIn, on Twitter, and on London Futurists. 

Image Source: Annca https://pixabay.com/photos/hourglass-clock-time-period-hours-2910951/