Radical Life Extension

By Asha Baron, Reilly Malone, and Tess

Williams
78.7
Years
122 Years
2050
What do you think
makes life so
valuable?
Objectives

1. Understand the science behind radical life extension and the different
technologies that could be used to achieve this
2. Form an understanding of how future society and the concepts of
time, life, and death will be affected by radical life extension
technology
Essential Questions

1. How will the environment be affected by a significant amount of

people extending their lives by 1,000 years? Will there be some form
of population control?
2. Is radical life extension sustainable for humans? Is there a limit to
how long the human body can live on Earth?
What is Aging?

Aging- the accumulation of damage a machine does

to itself throughout operation as a side effect of the
normal operation

Damages- changes in structure and composition

that the body cannot automatically reverse
What is Radical Life Extension?

● Extending human life dramatically beyond a normal lifespan (78.7 years)

● Not just improving healthcare, involves scientific procedure to artificially extend
life
● Proposed to be accomplished through:
○ Telomere Extension
○ Medical Technology
Telomeres

● Found on the end of linear chromosomes

● Protect important areas from degradation

● Shorten after each chromosome replication

Medical Technology

● Using technology to improve parts of the human body that are failing
● Keeps these parts alive for longer
● Implants, prosthetics
● Mind Uploading

Does this make us less human?

ENVIRONMENT
Negative Impacts of Humans on the
Environment

● Overpopulation
● Pollution
● Burning of fossil fuels
● Deforestation
George Morris has defined overpopulation as the state of the population "when there are more people than can live on the
earth in comfort, happiness, and health and still leave the world a fit place for future generations."

Because the human species manipulates and converts its habitat and can counter the natural limits on its
population (such as by vaccinating for disease or providing emergency food to drought-struck areas), the
conceptual basis of carrying capacity breaks down when considering people. Turner stated that carrying
capacity should be only a heuristic device, and he cautioned against calculating specific values for the
human-environment system. He stated that carrying capacity has been “largely abandoned” in the social and
policy sciences.

The Earth's population, currently 7.2 billion, is expected to rise at a rapid rate over the next 40 years. Current
projections state that the Earth will need to support 9.6 billion people by the year 2050, a figure that climbs to
nearly 11 billion by 2100 (United Nations, 2012).
Less developed nations consume less, but produce more children

The main issue when focusing on overpopulation is consumption.

An increasing population in more developed countries would be very bad for the environment
because if the population is not dying but still demanding resources at the same rate or greater
this would rapidly increase the rate at which resources are depleted and carbon emissions are
released into the atmosphere.
H ealth
Telomere Testing Helps...

❏ Detect Disease

❏ Stratify Risk

❏ Determine Prognosis

❏ Tailor Treatment
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7bBHdAYaFws (2:28 - 4:08)
Critically Short Telomeres Contribute to...

❏ Cardiovascular Disease
❏ Type 2 Diabetes
❏ Cancer
❏ Osteoarthritis
❏ Osteoporosis
❏ Pulmonary Fibrosis
❏ Major Depressive Disorders
❏ CNS Diseases
Telomere Shortening & Lifestyle Behaviors

❏ Smoking
❏ Obesity
❏ Alcohol Consumption
❏ Unmanaged Stress
❏ Sedentary Habits
❏ Poor Diet

Positive health practices can also impact the rate of

telomere shortening
Aubrey de Gray
What Exactly is Aging?

❏ Aging is not a phenomenon of biology, it’s a phenomenon of

physics
❏ The aging process in humans and in any living organism is the
same as the aging process in any machine with human parts
❏ A car is only made to function for about 10 to 15 years, but
through periodic repairs we can keep it functioning for 100 years
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AvWtSUdOWVI (8:20 - 10: 41)
CONCEPT OF LIFE
“One has to pay dearly
for immortality; one
has to die several
times while one is still
alive.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
 Bowhead Whale -- Average lifespan of 200 years
1819 - 2019
What will life be like when we experience so much in one lifetime?
 What will humanity accomplish when we have
unlimited time?
● Pressure to figure out your life is taken
away
● Explore many different paths in life
● Innovators have enough time to
develop ideas
How Much Time is Too Much Time?

- For someone 16 years old, one hundredth of their life is 58.4 days
- For someone who will live to be 150 years old, one hundredth of their life is 1.5 years
- For someone who will live to be 1000 years old, one hundredth of their life is 10 years

How will this affect our ability to make good choices?

Will our humanity be affected?

Activity
What do you think
makes life so
valuable?
Further Research

❏ SENS Research Foundation: https://www.sens.org/

❏ Coalition for Radical Life Extension RAADfest project: www.raadfest.com
❏ Life Length: https://lifelength.com
❏ https://singularityhub.com/2016/12/01/is-radical-life-extension-good-for-society/
❏ Aubrey de Gray: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AvWtSUdOWVI
❏ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7bBHdAYaFws