“That’s the very last wish I would ever contemplate for myself!” an octogenarian recently exclaimed to me. “My body will just keep degenerating longer and, seriously, who would want to face all the problems of the world even longer?” It seems then that many, if not most, seniors, as they grow older, reject the idea of wishing to live forever--to be immortal.
However, younger generations do seem to aspire to immorality!
Theories and possibilities abound, three of which can be described as follows:
Cryonics
An older, more well-known theory, Cryonics, is the process of suspending a just-deceased person in a frozen state until the remedy for what killed him, or her, has been discovered. Then, theoretically, the person can be thawed out and cured. One major champion of freezing is Ralph Merkle, a board member at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation cryonics facility in Arizona. Having performed its first human cryopreservation in 1976, Alcor now has 153 deceased patients frozen in its facility.
Longevity pills
Work is ongoing on a pill that triggers an anti-aging enzyme in the human body named Sirtuin 1, which could extend human lifespan by up to 15%. A company named Elysium has already developed such a pill, which is thought to slow down the aging process. It represents the culmination of 25 years of research and now has now entered the human trials phase. It might be on pharmacists’ shelves sooner than anyone imagined. (1)
Robotic avatars for cybernetic immortality
There’s a growing consensus in the scientific community that it will be possible to save and upload copies of ourselves to be stored online in the near future. These virtual copies could then be installed into robotic bodies, or avatars, thus enabling us to live forever.
So…..in this generational divide, what’s your wish for your future?
(1) Reference - McFadden Christopher. Will Humans Ever Be Immortal? These 11 Theories and Technologies Will Shed Some Light on It. Interesting Engineering. June 2nd, 2018.
For advice about seniors and care at home, please kindly contact Brian Porter, Director and Owner of Living Assistance Services (LAS), at 416.483.0070 (office), 905.758.2486 (cell) or [email protected] and visit www.laservices.ca
