What do you guys think of senescence?

[Thego2guy]

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Came across this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey

and this video (its lengthy) http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/diet-aging-and-metabolism/aubrey-de-grey

I'm wondering if any of you have done any research on the topic, or on Aubrey Grey, and what do you think on the matter? Does his work/theory seem legitimate?

Any civil thoughts and comments are appreciated. I think aging is a really cool (but dreadful) subject.

 

[plumhill]

To be honest, I'm a little put off by the thought of a lifespan beyond what is naturally acceptable. What I've noticed in Western culture is that there is a tendency to be afraid of death and the notion that not everyone can live forever. You would rather put your children and parents on machines and stuff them with tubes rather than let them die peacefully and with dignity.

Is such research "interesting?" Yes. However, is it morally sound or reasonable? I would say no.

 

[theseeker4]

To be honest, I'm a little put off by the thought of a lifespan beyond what is naturally acceptable. What I've noticed in Western culture is that there is a tendency to be afraid of death and the notion that not everyone can live forever. You would rather put your children and parents on machines and stuff them with tubes rather than let them die peacefully and with dignity.

Is such research "interesting?" Yes. However, is it morally sound or reasonable? I would say no.

To play devil's advocate, we have already more than doubled what the "naturally acceptable" lifespan is.....Is a further increase in quality and quantity of lifespan a bad thing? If not, how much more would be reasonable? If so, at what point should that line be drawn, and would you say we have already crossed it?

 

[JFK90787]

The lab I work in is a stem cell lab. One theory they like to advocate is that aging is caused by senescence of stem cells (you can find specific markers for senescence). If you could keep a population of young stem cells in the body throughout life, you could keep specific organs functioning much better.

One experiment I was directly involved in is that they took stem cells from the heart of people of all different ages. When these stem cells were induced to differentiate in vitro, the stem cells of younger people were more likely to resemble their organ of origin (in this case, they became myocytes), while the stem cells of older people were more likely to differentiate into fibroblasts.

It's definitely an interesting topic, and one that gets a lot of funding so it will probably generate more interest in future scientists.

 

[Thego2guy]

To play devil's advocate, we have already more than doubled what the "naturally acceptable" lifespan is.....Is a further increase in quality and quantity of lifespan a bad thing? If not, how much more would be reasonable? If so, at what point should that line be drawn, and would you say we have already crossed it?

Agree. Grey's attitude as shown in the video shows that he is not directly interested in increasing the lifespan, but that he is devoted to keeping us healthy. So based on his theories, aging is simply an accumulation of pathologies, so as long as we keep humans extra healthy, and perhaps reverse some of the degeneration, the side effect will simply be longevity. Grey anticipates the average life span will increase to about a 1000 years.

 

[kpcrew]

his ideas are interesting but it's hard to judge his work since the field is relatively new. also he has an amazing beard.

 

[Thego2guy]

his ideas are interesting but it's hard to judge his work since the field is relatively new. also he has an amazing beard.

Lmao, I was mesmorized by it. Still can't stop staring.

 

[dr zaius]

I read an article about him in Popular Science when I was maybe a freshman in undergrad. He had some really appealing ideas, but I wondered how far he would go. He was kind of a fringe thinker and rogue scientist type. Last semester I went to a talk he gave at the UF Institute on Aging. He presented a basic overview of the center he runs (SENS), and went into detail on one of their research projects using enzymes from bacteria found in graveyards to digest atheromas. The preliminary data was decent. It will be interesting to see what the next 10 or so years brings for his lab/projects he funds. He's pretty inspiring when you think about it. He had this idea and passion, and he really worked to make something of it.

He's also a super nice guy. The talk he gave was in a pretty intimate setting (~20 people), and I was able to talk with him before and after.

 

[TheVillain]

Realistically it is probably not such a great idea. It may definitely be applied toward the select few but if we're talking about increasing every persons lifespan, than there will be simply no resources left on earth in order to sustain the exponential growth of the human population.

 

[deleted393595]

I'm wondering if any of you have done any research on the topic, or on Aubrey Grey, and what do you think on the matter?

My hero <3

Realistically it is probably not such a great idea. It may definitely be applied toward the select few but if we're talking about increasing every persons lifespan, than there will be simply no resources left on earth in order to sustain the exponential growth of the human population.

The economic cost of having more kids does a great job of curtailing population growth. Ie. Western Europe and Japan and Russia and Most Industrialized Countries

 

[Thego2guy]

I read an article about him in Popular Science when I was maybe a freshman in undergrad. He had some really appealing ideas, but I wondered how far he would go. He was kind of a fringe thinker and rogue scientist type. Last semester I went to a talk he gave at the UF Institute on Aging. He presented a basic overview of the center he runs (SENS), and went into detail on one of their research projects using enzymes from bacteria found in graveyards to digest atheromas. The preliminary data was decent. It will be interesting to see what the next 10 or so years brings for his lab/projects he funds. He's pretty inspiring when you think about it. He had this idea and passion, and he really worked to make something of it.

He's also a super nice guy. The talk he gave was in a pretty intimate setting (~20 people), and I was able to talk with him before and after.

That is sooooooo cool!!!! And i didn't know that people on SDN read Popular Science. I can finally come out of the closet 😎

Do you think he would have more success in his research if he was affiliated with a university, rather than doing it through SENS?

My hero <3



The economic cost of having more kids does a great job of curtailing population growth. Ie. Western Europe and Japan and Russia and Most Industrialized Countries

I guess you really like his ideas! Do you agree with all the science behind his theories?