It is well documented that living on a daily allowance of calories just above the starvation level (with vitamins added) will extend your life by a fair bit. However, when you finally do succumb at 145, your last words will be, "It wasn't worth missisng the odd black pudding supper."

#2 Or the odd dram, or the odd cigarette, or the odd bit on the side.

Opens up the potential to watch Scotland win the World Cup!

Sinnerman - come on, surely our climate change to let hell freeze over won't happen that fast...... will it?

There is a distinction between *why* we age and die and *how* we age and die.

My understanding is this:

We are merely the vehicles that 'selfish genes' construct in order to survive and reproduce. Whatever gives them an advantage in this will be positively selected.

Once we've had children and raised them to the point where they can fend for themselves, our well-being has little effect. After our last child, selection pressures can no longer work directly. We may continue to be some help to them, but if we were immortal we should just clog the world up and get in the way. (As individuals we take a different view of things!)

Evolution produces mechanisms that are just good enough and no more. Our bodies keep themselves in good order long enough to give copies of our genes (our children) the best chance of survival. After that, one way or another we accumulate damage until in the end we peg out.

This is *why* we age and die. *How* we age and die is the subject of this article.

(That's an evolutionist's view. What's the religious explanation of why we must become decrepit before we go before and are judged by the great Sheriff in the Sky?)

#6 Ho Ho Ho!... and a Merry Christmas to you too. I prefer Guga's (#2) wisdom though!

"If the same amount of money was spent on this as is now being spent on AIDS, breast cancer or even diabetes, we would see breakthroughs come much faster," argues noted futurist Ray Kurzweil

I think that is obviously true. There is obviously a fear that we could produce a population problem & many social problems but I think death, however convenient, should be fought.

http://a-place-to-stand.blogspot.com/2006/08/grow-old-alo...

It's the old story. Everyone wants to go to Heaven but no one is in a hurry to get there.

I am reminded of the story of the man who was told by his doctor: "Give up smoking, drinking and women and you'll live to 90". To which the reply was : "What for?"
As the Wild West ballad puts it, "If whisky don't kill me I'll live till I die":

The good news is ...this may just put an end to the reincarnation queue. :)

does the big 'sheriff in the sky have a rusty sheriff's badge?...

Although, it would be cool to know whats happnin in say...1000yrs, just for the craic. Cryogenically freeze my brain, then transplant me into a 6' 5" legendary, sword weilding warrior with proper long hair and a beard. THAT would be cool.

This talk of death is depressing me. If I were living (?) in the 15th century, chances are I'd be long gone. Mind you, if I were a giant tortoise, I'd be a young thing.
There, I'm happy again.

I heard awhile back that telomere therapy also could be used for some childhood diseases. It was in the book, "Reversing Human Aging." Not sure if scientists are still involved with that research.

Nevertheless, trials within a year sound extremely promising. I saw this article linked on a web site called http://futuresheet.com/

It has some pretty interesting articles related to aging.