Day: December 4, 2004

1,000 Years Is Not Enough (But It Is A Start)

The BBC has a speculative article by Cambridge geneticist Dr. Aubrey de Grey claiming that human life spans can be extended to 1,000 years. According to Dr. Grey,

Ageing is a physical phenomenon happening to our bodies, so at some point in the future, as medicine becomes more and more powerful, we will inevitably be able to address ageing just as effectively as we address many diseases today.

I claim that we are close to that point because of the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) project to prevent and cure ageing.

. . .

So, will this happen in time for some people alive today? Probably. Since these therapies repair accumulated damage, they are applicable to people in middle age or older who have a fair amount of that damage.

I think the first person to live to 1,000 might be 60 already.

De Grey is the chairman and CEO of The Methuselah Foundation which seeks to implement his SENS approach in mice first and offers the Methuselah Prize(s) — an X Prize-style reward for researchers involved in aging research in mice.

It offers the Longevity Prize, for researchers who produce mice that live longer (the prize is based on how much longer the new mice live compared to the old record), and the Rejuvenation Prize for successful reversal of the effects of aging in mice who have passed their mean life expectancy.

In other words, forget building a better mousetrap and focus on building a better mouse.

Of course even 1,000 years is not nearly enough, but it would be a nice start.

Source:

‘We will be able to live to 1,000’. The BBC, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, December 3, 2004.

43 Folders

Even thought it is Mac-centric, 43 Folders is an excellent geek-oriented blog on hacking together different tools to maximize productivity. If you’ve joined the Getting Things Done cult (and I’ve become a full fledged believer), this site is like crack. If you’re the sort of person who would actually need something like this (and I certainly do), this is the site for you.

The 43 Folders Google Group is even better, with lots of great ideas and interesting speculation on solving various geek-related problems.

On Sleep

I definitely count myself among one of the sleep-deprived. The sad thing is that I know not sleeping enough ultimately lowers my productivity, I can’t help it — I enjoy staying up late with a caffeine buzz.

Anyway, this is an interesting look at sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation with some pretty radical suggestions (get rid of the alarm clock? Doesn’t he mean get rid of the alarm clocks — I’ve got three).

I’m skeptical of some of the claims the author throws around — the claim, for example, that sleep deprivation costs upwards of $150 billion sounds like those factoids about the costs of obesity or some other pet concern.

But I do like his ultimate proposal — run a 28 hour day — and some of the suggestions for getting sleep deprived habits back on schedule. Interesting stuff to ponder, at least until provigil or some other drug comes along to make sleep unnecessary (after dying, sleeping has to be the second most pointless physiological reality).

Source:

Good sleep, good learning, good life. Piotr Wozniak, 2000.