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dalumbr t1_j9i90wn wrote

Reply to comment by QualifiedApathetic in Scientists Say They Gene Hacked Mice to Double Remaining Lifespan by Ok-Prior-8856

I think it depends rather highly on how the causes of death are impacted, and the nature of the extension.

If it's what I think it is, it's more or less stretching out the body's decay, rather than just adding a number of years in a specific physical state. So people that randomly die at any point after 50 are still going to, rather than living forever. That's an issue for a far, far improved version of this treatment, if it's ever possible.

Going by the 7% figure in the study, 7 years assuming a lifespan of 100 would figure into maybe 3 or 4 at an optimal age if applied early enough, and wouldn't really impact average society beyond a slight increase across the board. It's not exactly an immediate exponential increase, though it could snowball into one.

Then again, with the average age of parents steadily rising, it might not seriously impact birthrate at all.

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QualifiedApathetic t1_j9icbh2 wrote

Well...what I really want is to get my 20s back. A do-over. Extra years would be nice, but I don't love the idea of finding a way to only slow the aging process just to watch my body deteriorate more gradually than I expected (it's already a fair ways into the process). So if it's just that, I'm only mildly interested.

It's a different study, but you might have heard about one where they basically made mice young again. You're right, a big question mark, whatever they come up with, is how we die instead. We'll have to see what role cancer and accidents play. Although, we're working on curing cancer, and automobiles, for example, are way safer than when I was born. There are car models whose rate of death is statistically zero. It's so much safer to get in an accident than it used to be.

And, as I said, we'll have to see who actually opts for treatments. Fingers crossed that right-wing Christians would rather die, but they come up with those beliefs post hoc. They certainly get chemotherapy for their cancer to delay going to heaven.gif

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