Ebook Free Download | Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality | In
this excellent and very readable book, Weiner presents a status report
of research progress on extending life, and he faces the question of
living forever. In his search for answers, he has the aid of Aubrey de
Grey of Cambridge University, a scientist who bubbles with ideas. I was
fortunate at one time to be in an online discussion group on aging
that included Aubrey de Grey. The stimulation he brought was amazing.
Now, you can read some of his thinking, as related by Weiner, along with
the setting in which it occurred.
Aubrey de Grey suggests that unlimited life is certainly on the way.
His arguments are good, and I note that a growing number of researchers
have concluded that aging cells wear out much like the parts of our
automobiles. We can combat some of this wear by replacing vital organs,
but the real feat is to get those defective control genes replaced or
working again. Researchers are finding and working on some of the
genes. As a result, they have extended, and even doubled, the life
spans of creatures in the laboratory. Thus, much longer life is
possible. Unlimited life does not violate any physical law, so it is
also possible. We simply have to figure out how to do it. I learned long
ago of the danger of saying that something is impossible. This was the
case with space travel, and this is the case with immortality. Weiner
does a masterful job of explaining where we stand on extending life,
and the problems we face.