If the risk of mortality (in France) at each age remained those of the 2000, the total number of deaths was 120,000 higher than that actually observed in 2010. INSEE Premiere (monthly National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies ). January 2011. Theme of the month: 101 ways to try to fight against aging and death
It is fascinating to survey ideas and perceptions of billions of human beings, probably since the dawn of humanity, have questioned the means to escape finitude.
From " mens sana in corpore sano " invented two millennia ago to the "survival digital" online dream by some in recent years through the promises of religion ways are innumerable. But they can be classified into a few large groups. This letter is to describe a relatively complete, but summarized and categorized in the extreme, the alternatives considered.
methods to live longer considered since the dawn of history
They can be divided into two categories: physical and religious
The physical means
- Absorb or soaking a substance. The pill to achieve immortality has not been found so far, but its search is underway for thousands of years: a plant in the epic of Gilgamesh, mercury or gold in China's Middle Kingdom The fountain of youth in the Middle Ages. Today, the search for a substance continue, but with more modesty. It is no longer to achieve immortality but only to find substances prolonging life. But this research are as effective as in the past because some substances such as rapamycin or products mimicking the effect of gene therapies have already proven their effectiveness in reducing the aging of certain animals.
- Achieve a physical condition that makes it inaccessible to aging. Some Buddhist meditation is the best known example. It is not religious because supposedly they do not require supernatural intervention. Many people have claimed to have found a state by sparing them the old ways that we might now call psychological or philosophical.
- Achieve a physical condition that makes it inaccessible to aging. Some Buddhist meditation is the best known example. It is not religious because supposedly they do not require supernatural intervention. Many people have claimed to have found a state by sparing them the old ways that we might now call psychological or philosophical.
means religious (and philosophical):
reader brought up in a cultural environment Judo-Christian or Muslim will think immediately of the resurrection. But back in the "envelope" of meat is far from the only religious conception of life after life, even among Christians. These are broad categories, starting with the easiest, at least for a Western reader.
- Return of the existence in physical form after death: the concept back to life in physical form. The body revives. This idea is present in the Catholic, Muslim and Jewish communities. But it existed before these religions. Egyptian pharaohs, for example, already hoping to return from the beyond.
- Maintaining a presence in non-physical after death: the concept of survival of the soul. The body disappears, but something intangible remains where found consciousness. This idea is partially a Catholic (who lived with the idea of resurrection) but also in many other faiths including animist religions say (ancestor worship) and spiritualism.
- Transfer of consciousness to another human being after death: metempsychosis or the reincarnation concept is probably the best known of Hinduism. It is also present especially for Buddhists.
- Incorporation into a larger whole. According to some, death or even at another time, the entity that constitutes a human being can melt completely or partially, in a larger whole. This design is fairly close to the religious conception of the survival of the soul but with the added dimension of merger-absorption. The idea is found, sometimes accurately, sometimes confusingly, in many religious beliefs and even sometimes in beliefs defined by some those who advocate such non-religious (return to "mother nature" vision cosmist ,...).
- Finally, more rarely, some people throughout history have claimed (and probably sometimes believed) not be affected by aging even be indestructible or because a supernatural power gave them this privilege, or for reasons not explained.
- Return of the existence in physical form after death: the concept back to life in physical form. The body revives. This idea is present in the Catholic, Muslim and Jewish communities. But it existed before these religions. Egyptian pharaohs, for example, already hoping to return from the beyond.
- Maintaining a presence in non-physical after death: the concept of survival of the soul. The body disappears, but something intangible remains where found consciousness. This idea is partially a Catholic (who lived with the idea of resurrection) but also in many other faiths including animist religions say (ancestor worship) and spiritualism.
- Transfer of consciousness to another human being after death: metempsychosis or the reincarnation concept is probably the best known of Hinduism. It is also present especially for Buddhists.
- Incorporation into a larger whole. According to some, death or even at another time, the entity that constitutes a human being can melt completely or partially, in a larger whole. This design is fairly close to the religious conception of the survival of the soul but with the added dimension of merger-absorption. The idea is found, sometimes accurately, sometimes confusingly, in many religious beliefs and even sometimes in beliefs defined by some those who advocate such non-religious (return to "mother nature" vision cosmist ,...).
- Finally, more rarely, some people throughout history have claimed (and probably sometimes believed) not be affected by aging even be indestructible or because a supernatural power gave them this privilege, or for reasons not explained.
methods envisaged through technological
For centuries, humanists imagine that the progress of science to ro nt to live much longer. Many creative ways can be classified into one of the categories mentioned above, but here are the contemporary categories, listed in chronological order of their design.
- The rejuvenation and stem cells
This all means that are designed to allow the body to regenerate itself without any limitation time: the early twentieth century by injection of substances from germ cells (including transplants), today thanks to stem cells.
- Gene therapy
is the area where the contemporary advances are the fastest. Gradually, which is a little software life , reveals its secrets, its mode of employment and means of has changed. The future masters of the genome is considered as the victory on Aging is considered long or medium term by a growing number of researchers. With enthusiasm or fear.
- Nanotechnology
These are substances or machines so small they can attack, modulate, transform to the smallest components of the cell. They are produced in such quantities that they would act once injected s , toes to the cornea destroying any cancer cells, repairing diseased organs, injecting substances missing and even digesting the excess fat. But currently, these technologies are still in any case as regards the nanobots, just at the concept stage.
- Digital Survival
If consciousness is independent of its substrate, that is to say, if what we call faute de mieux, the soul can be "detached" (made independently) of the brain, it might one day be can carry it, totally or partially, by copying or by moving on a computer. Technologies that allow even less advanced than nanotechnology. Progress in this area are linked to progress in research on artificial intelligence.
The list ends (temporarily) here. All the above is, unfortunately (or fortunately, according to some) , without proven to date. Although the methods mentioned are actually on the edge of several categories. Religion is not always Unscientific. To paraphrase Arthur Clarke, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is (sometimes) indistinguishable from religion" . At one time or another, every human being endowed with consciousness, which the reader of these lines, considered some of the assumptions. Everyone watches his finitude.
The list ends (temporarily) here. All the above is, unfortunately (or fortunately, according to some) , without proven to date. Although the methods mentioned are actually on the edge of several categories. Religion is not always Unscientific. To paraphrase Arthur Clarke, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is (sometimes) indistinguishable from religion" . At one time or another, every human being endowed with consciousness, which the reader of these lines, considered some of the assumptions. Everyone watches his finitude.
The good news for the month
Scientists from Scripps Research Institute have succeeded in turning adult cells of the skin cardiac cells. So far, to transform cells from one type to another cell type, it was necessary to go through the stage of stem cells. This finding may facilitate the treatment of many diseases for which the contribution of new cells is useful, for example in case of injury, illness cardinal has that or degenerative disease as of Alzheimer's.
- More generally: http://sens.org/ , http://imminst.org/ , http://heales.org/ and http://immortalite.org/
- To learn more about the transformation of skin cells for therapeutic purposes: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/sri- srs012811.php and http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110130213901.htm
- To respond or to receive the newsletter: info@heales.org
- To learn more about the transformation of skin cells for therapeutic purposes: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/sri- srs012811.php and http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110130213901.htm
- To respond or to receive the newsletter: info@heales.org
Image source: a stem cell and an Egyptian cross (Ankh)
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