Like most people I’m tired of being cooped up in my apartment while quarantining alone. I yearn to be able to travel the world once more, meeting people, making memories, and acquiring new knowledge. But then again what is the point? If I die a year from now or five years from now or fifty years from now what difference does it make if I took one more trip or read one more book along the way? It’s not like I can take that knowledge or those memories with me.
That’s why I believe that technology that enables us to live longer or better yet, forever, is truly one of the most important scientific and technological endeavors of all-time. The pinnacle of human achievement. Pull off that trick and suddenly one’s life gains meaning. At that point you really would be motivated to see the world or learn as much as you possibly could, to constantly seek out self-improvement and become the best version of yourself, because at that point you’re playing for keeps. Or at least playing for such a long period of time that you’d have sufficient motivation to try and see everything there is to see, do everything there is to do. Making it so that immortal vampires aren’t the only ones having all the fun.
Of course, those who believe in Heaven and Hell and the idea of a soul already believe that you are playing for keeps. That the essence of who you are stays with you no matter what comes next. But for an atheist like me there is no such salvation. Other than trying to procreate, make the world a better place, or live comfortably, there really is no real point to accumulating life experiences. Once you past a certain threshold of acquiring basic knowledge (enough to survive) and receiving standard comfort (enough to live peacefully) the vast majority of what you do beyond that point isn’t going to matter in the long run. It’s all just entertainment at that point. Different means of accomplishing the same goal: killing time. Of course, some people are still motivated to accumulate wealth and max out their life. To go as hard as they can for as long as they can. But again, you don’t take your riches with you, so at some point, above a certain threshold, all that is pointless too.
Which is why the latest news about an anti-aging compound is so exciting. Even if we can’t live forever the idea of living at least a little bit longer or of having a higher quality “healthspan” along the way is extremely enticing.
Such a scientific breakthrough would significantly enhance one’s life, perhaps making it a little bit less pointless since you’d be around for longer, able to accomplish more and benefit more from your life experiences over a longer period of time.
If people are living on average to say 125 or 130 years instead of 75 or 80 years that changes everything. You wouldn’t want to just plod along at a sub-optimal pace. You’d want to hit the ground running and set yourself up for the long haul since you’d now have a sufficient amount of time to work with, to actually accomplish something worthwhile. At that point you wouldn’t be lamenting how short life is. Rather, you’d actually be commenting that it was a little bit too long.
The key to pulling that paradigm shift off? A new anti-aging compound. New Atlas explains what all the hype is about:
“Over the past few years some researchers have started investigating the effect of AKG supplementation on lifespan and healthspan. A 2008 review article on the subject noted AKG blood levels can drop by a factor of ten between the ages of 40 and 80. This suggests AKG supplementation in middle-age could confer helpful anti-aging effects into old age.
The new study, reporting the results of sustained AKG supplementation in mice, follows on from prior work detailing longevity effects from AKG in yeast and worms. From around 18 months of age, the mouse equivalent of middle-age, the animals were fed daily supplements of AKG for well over a year.
The AKG-supplemented mice lived, on average, 12 percent longer than the control mice. A relevant lifespan extension for sure, but looking into the effects of AKG on healthspan offered significantly more impressive results.
Many anti-aging researchers are primarily focusing on improving healthspan as opposed to lifespan. This means, instead of trying to keep us alive for decades longer, the goal is to extend the period of time we are vigorous and healthy. Gordon Lithgow, senior author on the new study, explains the focus on healthspan in this research.
‘The nightmare scenario has always been life extension with no reduction in disability,’ says Lithgow. ‘In this study, the treated middle-aged mice got healthier over time. Even the mice that died early saw improvements in their health, which was really surprising and encouraging.’
Healthspan was evaluated in the study using a number of measures including inflammatory markers, frailty and cognition. Overall, the AKG-supplemented animals showed more than 40 percent improvement across these healthspan measures compared to the control mice.”
In other words, we may soon have at our disposal, a compound that can help us live lives that are not only a little bit longer, but more importantly, lives that are healthier for longer. A breakthrough that could help us add a little bit of meaning to our lives. At least as far as I am concerned.
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