LIFE DIGEST: Immortality predicted in possibly 20 years
- Oct 13, 2009 - comment
Immortality could be within reach for human beings as soon as 20 years from now, an American scientist says.
That is the prediction of Ray Kurzweil, whose forecasts are criticized by some in the scientific community. Yet, they represent the hopes of at least some transhumanists, who propose development beyond human beings.
Also in this edition: Arizona judge blocks new pro-life laws and Stem cells aid dying heart patient.
Writing in The Sun, Kurzweil, 61, said advances in nanotechnology and genetics are coming so quickly that replacements for vital organs could be accessible in two decades.
Kurzweil wrote, according to a report in another British newspaper, The Telegraph: “I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to [reprogram] our bodies’ stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, [aging]. The nanotechnology will let us live forever.
“Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively.
“Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen.
“Heart-attack victims – who haven’t taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts – will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as their blood bots keep them alive.
“Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes. . . .
“So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs,” Kurzweil wrote.
Arizona judge blocks new pro-life laws
An Arizona county judge has blocked implementation of state laws to provide more information and protect women considering abortion.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton issued a preliminary injunction against the laws Sept. 29, a day before they were to go into effect, according to The Arizona Republic.
Among their provisions, the newspaper reported, the bills would:
- Mandate women be informed in person by a doctor about the dangers of and alternatives to abortion and only a physician perform the procedure;
- Require under-age girls provide a notarized statement of parental consent in order to obtain an abortion;
- Permit pharmacists and other health-care workers to decline to provide contraceptives.
Planned Parenthood, the country’s leading abortion provider, filed the lawsuit against the laws.
“We’re very disappointed that a state judge gave so little attention to the needs of Arizona women,” said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, according to The Republic. “These are common-sense regulations. . . . This is simply Round 1.”
Stem cells aid dying heart patient
A procedure combining a mechanical heart and a man’s own stem cells has saved the life of the dying patient, according to The Scotsman.
British surgeon Stephen Westaby, who performed the procedure on Ioannis Manolopoulos in Greece, said it represented the first time the treatments have been used together, the newspaper reported. The stem cells were extracted from the patient’s bone marrow.
Manolopoulos had suffered at least two heart attacks and been in the hospital for four months. Other treatments had produced no results, according to The Scotsman.
A mechanical heart normally is utilized to aid the heart of a person awaiting a transplant. The mechanical device, also described as a left ventricular assist device, redirected blood away from the chamber while the stem cells repair Manolopoulos’ damaged heart muscle, the report said.
“We hope the combination of stem cells and pumps will enable patients to enjoy life for many years,” said Christos Papakonstantinou, a heart surgeon at the Thessaloniki hospital where the procedure occurred, The Scotsman reported.
Some experts said more work was needed before the method could be more generally used.
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Further Learning
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