Life extension is the concept of extending the humanlifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing themaximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled biological limit ofaround 125 years.[1] Several researchers in the area, along with "life extensionists", "immortalists", or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), postulate that future breakthroughs in tissuerejuvenation,stem cells,regenerative medicine,molecular repair,gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, andorgan replacement (such as with artificial organs orxenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition (agerasia[2]). The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated bybioethicists.
The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormone replacement is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse theaging process in the US market generated about $50 billion of revenue a year in 2009.[3] The use of such hormone products has not been proven to be effective or safe.[3][4][5][6] Similarly, a variety of apps make claims to assist in extending the life of their users, or predicting their lifespans.[7][8][9]
During the process ofaging, an organism accumulates damage to itsmacromolecules,cells,tissues, andorgans. Specifically, aging is characterized as and thought to be caused by "genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss ofproteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction,cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication."[10]Oxidation damage to cellular contents caused byfree radicals is believed to contribute to aging as well.[11][12]
The longest documented human lifespan is 122 years 164 days, the case ofJeanne Calment, who according to records was born in 1875 and died in 1997, whereas the maximum lifespan of awildtype mouse, commonly used as a model in research on aging, is about three years.[13] Genetic differences between humans and mice that may account for these different aging rates include differences in efficiency ofDNA repair,antioxidant defenses,energy metabolism,proteostasis maintenance, and recycling mechanisms such asautophagy.[14]
The average life expectancy in a population is lowered byinfant andchild mortality, which are frequently linked to infectious diseases or nutrition problems. Later in life, vulnerability toaccidents and age-relatedchronic disease such ascancer orcardiovascular disease play an increasing role in mortality. Extension of life expectancy and lifespan can often be achieved by access to improved medical care,vaccinations, gooddiet,exercise, and avoidance of hazards such assmoking.
Maximum lifespan is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in itsgenes and by environmental factors. Widely recognized methods of extending maximum lifespan in model organisms such asnematodes, fruit flies, and mice includecaloric restriction,gene manipulation, and administration of pharmaceuticals.[15] Another technique uses evolutionary pressures such as breeding from only older members or altering levels of extrinsic mortality.[16][17]Some animals such ashydra, planarian flatworms, and certainsponges,corals, andjellyfish do not die of old age and exhibit potential immortality.[18][19][20][21]
The extension of life has been a desire of humanity and a mainstay motif in the history of scientific pursuits and ideas throughout history, from the SumerianEpic of Gilgamesh and the EgyptianSmith medical papyrus, all the way through theTaoists,Ayurveda practitioners,alchemists,hygienists such asLuigi Cornaro, Johann Cohausen andChristoph Wilhelm Hufeland, and philosophers such asFrancis Bacon,René Descartes,Benjamin Franklin and NicolasCondorcet. However, the beginning of the modern period in this endeavor can be traced to the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, to the so-called "fin-de-siècle" (end of the century) period, denoted as an "end of an epoch" and characterized by the rise of scientific optimism and therapeutic activism, entailing the pursuit of life extension (or life-extensionism). Among the foremost researchers of life extension at this period were the Nobel Prize winning biologistElie Metchnikoff (1845-1916) -- the author of the cell theory of immunity and vice director of Institut Pasteur in Paris, andCharles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817-1894) -- the president of the French Biological Society and one of the founders of modern endocrinology.[22]
SociologistJames Hughes claims that science has been tied to a cultural narrative of conquering death since theAge of Enlightenment. He citesFrancis Bacon (1561–1626) as an advocate of using science and reason to extend human life, noting Bacon's novelNew Atlantis, wherein scientists worked toward delaying aging and prolonging life.Robert Boyle (1627–1691), founding member of theRoyal Society, also hoped that science would make substantial progress with life extension, according to Hughes, and proposed such experiments as "to replace the blood of the old with the blood of the young". BiologistAlexis Carrel (1873–1944) was inspired by a belief in indefinite human lifespan that he developed after experimenting withcells, says Hughes.[23]
Regulatory and legal struggles between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and theLife Extension organization included seizure of merchandise and court action.[24] In 1991,Saul Kent andBill Faloon, the principals of the organization, were jailed for four hours and were released on $850,000 bond each.[25] After 11 years of legal battles, Kent and Faloon convinced the US Attorney's Office to dismiss all criminal indictments brought against them by the FDA.[26]
In 2003,Doubleday published "The Immortal Cell: One Scientist's Quest to Solve the Mystery of Human Aging," byMichael D. West. West emphasised the potential role of embryonic stem cells in life extension.[27]
Other modern life extensionists include writerGennady Stolyarov, who insists that death is "the enemy of us all, to be fought with medicine, science, and technology";[28]transhumanist philosopherZoltan Istvan, who proposes that the "transhumanist must safeguard one's own existence above all else";[29] futuristGeorge Dvorsky, who considers aging to be a problem that desperately needs to be solved;[30] and recording artistSteve Aoki, who has been called "one of the most prolific campaigners for life extension".[31]
In 2003,Aubrey de Grey andDavid Gobel formed theMethuselah Foundation, which gives financial grants to anti-aging research projects. In 2009, de Grey and several others founded theSENS Research Foundation, a California-based scientific research organization which conducts research into aging and funds other anti-aging research projects at various universities.[33] In 2013,Google announcedCalico, a new company based in San Francisco that will harness new technologies to increase scientific understanding of the biology of aging.[34] It is led byArthur D. Levinson,[35] and its research team includes scientists such asHal V. Barron,David Botstein, andCynthia Kenyon. In 2014, biologistCraig Venter founded Human Longevity Inc., a company dedicated to scientific research to end aging through genomics and cell therapy. They received funding with the goal of compiling a comprehensive human genotype, microbiome, and phenotype database.[36]
Aside from private initiatives, aging research is being conducted in university laboratories, and includes universities such asHarvard andUCLA. University researchers have made a number of breakthroughs in extending the lives of mice and insects by reversing certain aspects of aging.[37][38][39][40]
Research geared towards life extension strategies in various organisms is currently under way at a number of academic and private institutions. Since 2009, investigators have found ways to increase the lifespan of nematode worms and yeast by 10-fold; the record in nematodes was achieved throughgenetic engineering and the extension in yeast by a combination of genetic engineering andcaloric restriction.[43] A 2009 review of longevity research noted: "Extrapolation from worms to mammals is risky at best, and it cannot be assumed that interventions will result in comparable life extension factors. Longevity gains from dietary restriction, or from mutations studied previously, yield smaller benefits to Drosophila than to nematodes, and smaller still to mammals. This is not unexpected, since mammals have evolved to live many times the worm's lifespan, and humans live nearly twice as long as the next longest-lived primate. From an evolutionary perspective, mammals and their ancestors have already undergone several hundred million years of natural selection favoring traits that could directly or indirectly favor increased longevity, and may thus have already settled on gene sequences that promote lifespan. Moreover, the very notion of a "life-extension factor" that could apply across taxa presumes a linear response rarely seen in biology."[43]
There are numerous chemicals intended to slow the aging process under study inanimal models.[44] One type of research is related to the observed effects of acalorie restriction (CR) diet, which has been shown to extend lifespan in some animals.[45] Based on that research, there have been attempts to develop drugs that will have the same effect on the aging process as a CR diet, which are known ascaloric restriction mimetic drugs, such asrapamycin[46] andmetformin.[47]
While agents such as these have some limited laboratory evidence of efficacy in animals, there are no studies to date in humans for drugs that may promote life extension, mainly because research investment remains at a low level, and regulatory standards are high.[55] Aging is not recognized as a preventable condition by governments, indicating there is no clear pathway to approval of anti-aging medications.[55] Further, anti-aging drug candidates are under constant review by regulatory authorities like the USFood and Drug Administration, which stated in 2023 that "no medication has been proven to slow or reverse the aging process."[56]
LDL-C lowering drugs such as statins and PCSK9 inhibitors present with some of the most promising candidates for increasing lifespan since there is substantial randomized genetic and clinical evidence that reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease via reducing LDL-C would yield a net gain in lifespan.[57][58]
While somebiogerontologists find these ideas "worthy of discussion",[66][67] others contend that the alleged benefits are too speculative given the current state of technology, referring to it as "fantasy rather than science".[4][6]
Genome editing, in whichnucleic acid polymers are delivered as adrug and are eitherexpressed as proteins, interfere with the expression of proteins, or correct genetic mutations, has been proposed as a future strategy to prevent aging.[68][69]
CRISPR/Cas9 edits genes by precisely cutting DNA and then harnessing natural DNA repair processes to modify the gene in the desired manner. The system has two components: the Cas9 enzyme and a guide RNA.[70] A large array of genetic modifications have been found to increase lifespan in model organisms such as yeast, nematode worms, fruit flies, and mice. As of 2013, the longest extension of life caused by a single gene manipulation was roughly 50% in mice and 10-fold innematode worms.[71]
"Healthspan, parental lifespan, and longevity are highly genetically correlated."[72]
In July2020 scientists, using publicbiological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, identify 10genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influencehealthspan, lifespan, and longevity – of which half have not been reported previously atgenome-wide significance and most being associated withcardiovascular disease – and identifyhaem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field. Their study suggests that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.[73][72] The same month other scientists report that yeast cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment age in two distinct ways, describe a biomolecular mechanism that can determine which process dominates during aging andgenetically engineer a novel aging route with substantially extended lifespan.[74][75]
InThe Selfish Gene,Richard Dawkins describes an approach to life-extension that involves "fooling genes" into thinking the body is young.[76] Dawkins attributes inspiration for this idea toPeter Medawar. The basic idea is that our bodies are composed of genes that activate throughout our lifetimes, some when we are young and others when we are older. Presumably, these genes are activated by environmental factors, and the changes caused by these genes activating can be lethal. It is a statistical certainty that we possess more lethal genes that activate in later life than in early life. Therefore, to extend life, we should be able to prevent these genes from switching on, and we should be able to do so by "identifying changes in the internal chemical environment of a body that take place during aging... and by simulating the superficial chemical properties of a young body".[77]
Some life extensionists suggest thattherapeutic cloning andstem cell research could one day provide a way to generate cells, body parts, or even entire bodies (generally referred to asreproductive cloning) that would be genetically identical to a prospective patient. In 2008, the US Department of Defense announced a program to research the possibility of growing human body parts on mice.[78] Complex biological structures, such as mammalian joints and limbs, have not yet been replicated. Dog and primate brain transplantation experiments were conducted in the mid-20th century but failed due torejection and the inability to restore nerve connections. As of 2006, the implantation of bio-engineered bladders grown from patients' own cells has proven to be a viable treatment for bladder disease.[79] Proponents of body part replacement and cloning contend that the required biotechnologies are likely to appear earlier than other life-extension technologies.
The use of humanstem cells, particularlyembryonic stem cells, is controversial. Opponents' objections generally are based on interpretations of religious teachings or ethical considerations.[80] Proponents of stem cell research point out that cells are routinely formed and destroyed in a variety of contexts. Use of stem cells taken from the umbilical cord or parts of the adult body may not provoke controversy.[81]
The controversies over cloning are similar, except general public opinion in most countries stands in opposition toreproductive cloning. Some proponents of therapeutic cloning predict the production of whole bodies, lacking consciousness, for eventual brain transplantation.
Some critics dispute the portrayal of aging as a disease. For example,Leonard Hayflick, who determined thatfibroblasts are limited to around 50 cell divisions, reasons that aging is an unavoidable consequence ofentropy. Hayflick and fellowbiogerontologistsJay Olshansky and Bruce Carnes have strongly criticized the anti-aging industry in response to what they see as unscrupulous profiteering from the sale of unprovenanti-aging supplements.[5]
Research by Sobh and Martin (2011) suggests that people buy anti-aging products to obtain a hoped-for self (e.g., keeping a youthful skin) or to avoid a feared-self (e.g., looking old). The research shows that when consumers pursue a hoped-for self, it is expectations of success that most strongly drive their motivation to use the product. The research also shows why doing badly when trying to avoid a feared self is more motivating than doing well. When product use is seen to fail it is more motivating than success when consumers seek to avoid a feared-self.[82]
Though many scientists state[83] that life extension and radical life extension are possible, there are still no international or national programs focused on radical life extension. There are political forces working both for and against life extension. By 2012, in Russia, the United States, Israel, and the Netherlands, the Longevity political parties started. They aimed to provide political support to radical life extension research and technologies, and ensure the fastest possible and at the same time soft transition of society to the next step – life without aging and with radical life extension, and to provide access to such technologies to most currently living people.[84]
Leon Kass (chairman of the USPresident's Council on Bioethics from 2001 to 2005) has questioned whether potential exacerbation ofoverpopulation problems would make life extension unethical.[93] He states his opposition to life extension with the words:
"simply to covet a prolonged life span for ourselves is both a sign and a cause of our failure to open ourselves to procreation and to any higher purpose ... [The] desire to prolong youthfulness is not only a childish desire to eat one's life and keep it; it is also an expression of a childish andnarcissistic wish incompatible with devotion to posterity."[94]
John Harris, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics, argues that as long as life is worth living, according to the person himself, we have a powerful moral imperative to save the life and thus to develop and offer life extension therapies to those who want them.[95]
TranshumanistphilosopherNick Bostrom has argued that any technological advances in life extension must be equitably distributed and not restricted to a privileged few.[96] In an extended metaphor entitled "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant", Bostrom envisions death as a monstrous dragon who demands human sacrifices. In the fable, after a lengthy debate between those who believe the dragon is a fact of life and those who believe the dragon can and should be destroyed, the dragon is finally killed. Bostrom argues that political inaction allowed many preventable human deaths to occur.[97]
Controversy about life extension is due to fear ofoverpopulation and possible effects on society.[98] BiogerontologistAubrey De Grey counters the overpopulation critique by pointing out that the therapy could postpone or eliminatemenopause, allowing women to space out their pregnancies over more years and thusdecreasing the yearly population growth rate.[99] Moreover, the philosopher and futuristMax More argues that, given that the worldwide population growth rate is slowing down and is projected to eventually stabilize and begin falling, superlongevity would be unlikely to contribute to overpopulation.[98]
A Spring 2013Pew Research poll in the United States found that 38% of Americans would want life extension treatments, and 56% would reject it. However, it also found that 68% believed most people would want it and that only 4% consider an "ideal lifespan" to be more than 120 years. The median "ideal lifespan" was 91 years of age and the majority of the public (63%) viewed medical advances aimed at prolonging life as generally good. 41% of Americans believed that radical life extension (RLE) would be good for society, while 51% said they believed it would be bad for society.[100] One possibility for why 56% of Americans claim they would reject life extension treatments may be due to the cultural perception that living longer would result in a longer period of decrepitude, and that the elderly in our current society are unhealthy.[101]
Religious people are no more likely to oppose life extension than the unaffiliated,[100] though some variation exists between religious denominations.
Most mainstream medical organizations and practitioners do not consider aging to be a disease. BiologistDavid Sinclair says: "I don't see aging as a disease, but as a collection of quite predictable diseases caused by the deterioration of the body."[102] The two main arguments used are that aging is both inevitable and universal while diseases are not.[103] However, not everyone agrees. Harry R. Moody, director of academic affairs forAARP, notes that what is normal and what is disease strongly depend on a historical context.[104]David Gems, assistant director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing, argues that aging should be viewed as a disease.[105] In response to the universality of aging, David Gems notes that it is as misleading as arguing thatBasenji are not dogs because they do not bark.[106] Because of the universality of aging he calls it a "special sort of disease". Robert M. Perlman, coined the terms "aging syndrome" and "disease complex" in 1954 to describe aging.[107]
The discussion whether aging should be viewed as a disease or not has important implications. One view is, this would stimulate pharmaceutical companies to develop life extension therapies and in the United States of America, it would also increase the regulation of the anti-aging market by theFood and Drug Administration (FDA). Anti-aging now falls under the regulations for cosmetic medicine which are less tight than those for drugs.[106][108]
Look uplife extension in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Asenolytic (from the wordssenescence and-lytic, "decomposition or breakdown") is among a class ofsmall molecules underbasic research to determine if they can selectively induce death ofsenescent cells and improve health in humans.[109] A goal of this research is to discover or develop agents to delay, prevent, alleviate, or reverse age-related diseases.[110][111] Removal of senescent cells with senolytics has been proposed as a method of enhancing immunity during aging.[112]
A related concept is "senostatic", which means to suppress senescence.[113]
Senolytics eliminate senescent cells whereassenomorphics – with candidates such asApigenin,Everolimus andRapamycin – modulate properties of senescent cells without eliminating them, suppressing phenotypes of senescence, including theSASP.[114][115] Senomorphic effects may be one major effect mechanism of a range of prolongevity drug candidates. Such candidates are however typically not studied for just one mechanism, but multiple. There arebiological databases of prolongevity drug candidates under research as well as of potential gene/protein targets. These are enhanced by longitudinalcohort studies,electronic health records,computational (drug) screening methods, computational biomarker-discovery methods and computational biodata-interpretation/personalized medicine methods.[116][117][118]
Many prolongevity drugs are synthetic alternatives or potential complements to existing nutraceuticals, such as varioussirtuin-activating compounds under investigation likeSRT2104.[120]In some cases pharmaceutical administration is combined with that of neutraceuticals – such as in the case ofglycine combined withNAC.[121] Often studies are structured based on or thematize specific prolongevity targets, listing both nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals (together or separately) such asFOXO3-activators.[122]
Researchers are also exploring ways to mitigate side-effects from such substances (possibly most notablyrapamycin and its derivatives) such as via protocols of intermittent administration[123][115][114][124][125] and have called for research that helps determine optimaltreatment schedules (including timing) in general.[126]
Thefree-radical theory of aging suggests thatantioxidant supplements might extend human life. Reviews, however, have found that use of vitamin A (as β-carotene) and vitamin E supplements possibly can increase mortality.[127][128] Other reviews have found no relationship between vitamin E and other vitamins with mortality.[129]Vitamin D supplementation of various dosages is investigated in trials[130] and there also is research into GlyNAC(seeabove).[121]
Complications of antioxidant supplementation (especially continuous high dosages far above theRDA) include thatreactive oxygen species (ROS), which are mitigated by antioxidants, "have been found to be physiologically vital for signal transduction, gene regulation, and redox regulation, among others, implying that their complete elimination would be harmful". In particular, one way of multiple they can be detrimental is by inhibiting adaptation to exercise such asmuscle hypertrophy (e.g. duringdedicated periods of caloric surplus).[131][132][133] There is also research into stimulating/activating/fueling endogenous antioxidant generation, in particular e.g. of neutraceutical glycine and pharmaceutical NAC.[134] Antioxidants can change the oxidation status of different e.g. tissues, targets or sites each with potentially different implications, especially for different concentrations.[135][136][137][138] A review suggestsmitochondria have ahormetic response to ROS, whereby low oxidative damage can be beneficial.[139]
Research suggests that increasing adherence toMediterranean diet patterns is associated with a reduction in total and cause-specific mortality, extending health- and lifespan.[141][142][143][144] Research is identifying the key beneficial components of the Mediterranean diet.[145][146] Studies suggest dietary changes are a factor ofnational relative rises in life-span.[147]
keeping alcohol consumption of any type at a minimum – conventional Mediterranean diets include alcohol consumption (i.e.of wine), which is under research due todata suggesting negative long-term brain impacts even at low/moderate consumption levels.[152][153]
fully replacing refined grains – some guidelines of Mediterranean diets do not clarify or include the principle ofwhole-grain consumption instead of refined grains. Whole grains are included in Mediterranean diets.[154][155]
Endogenous circulating biomolecules:Blood proteins of blood from young animals have shown some pro-longevity potential in animal studies (e.g. via transfer of blood or plasma, and of plasma proteins).[118] Moreover,exerkines – signalling biomolecules released during/after exercise – have also shown promising results.[165] Exerkines includemyokines.Extracellular vesicles were shown to be secreted concomitantly with exerkines and are also investigated.[166][167] (See also:body fluid andcerebrospinal fluid)
Personalized interventions: future studies may tailor and investigatepersonalized medicine-type interventions.[168] For instance, effects of interventions or e.g. dosages may vary per age[148] and/or genome. A review suggests that the field ofprecision medicine and geroscience will have to interact closely[168] (see also:combination therapy)
Peptides: such asMOTS-c released by mitochondria[169]
Mitochondria modulation: early-stage research indicates mitochondrial interventions such as mitochondrial transplantation may have potential to be efficacious[170][117][171][172][173] (See also:mitochondrial theory of ageing)
There is a need and research into the development of agingbiomarkers such as theepigenetic clock "to assess the ageing process and the efficacy of interventions to bypass the need for large-scale longitudinal studies".[168][117] Such biomarkers may also include in vivobrain imaging.[174]
Reviews sometimes include structured tables that provide systematic overviews of intervention/drug candidates with a review calling for integrating "current knowledge with multi-omics, health records, and drug safety data to predict drugs that can improve health in late life" and listingmajor outstanding questions.[116]Biological databases of prolongevity drug candidates under research as well as of potential gene/protein targets include GenAge, DrugAge and Geroprotectors.[116][175]
A review has pointed out that the approach of "'epidemiological' comparison of how a low versus a high consumption of an isolated macronutrient and its association with health and mortality may not only fail to identify protective or detrimental nutrition patterns but may lead to misleading interpretations". It proposes a multi-pillar approach, and summarizes findings towards constructing – multi-system-considering and at least age-personalized dynamic – refined longevity diets. Epidemiological-type observational studies included in meta-analyses should according to the study at least be complemented by "(1) basic research focused on lifespan and healthspan, (2) carefully controlled clinical trials, and (3) studies of individuals and populations with record longevity".[148]
Theanti-aging industry offers severalhormone therapies. Some of these have been criticized for possible dangers and a lack of proven effect. For example, theAmerican Medical Association has been critical of some anti-aging hormone therapies.[3]
Whilegrowth hormone (GH) decreases with age, the evidence for use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy is mixed and based mostly on animal studies. There are mixed reports that GH orIGF-1 modulates the aging process in humans and about whether the direction of its effect is positive or negative.[176]
Healthy lifestyle practices and healthy diet have been suggested as "first-line function-preserving strategies, with pharmacological agents, including existing and new pharmaceuticals and novel 'nutraceutical' compounds, serving as potential complementary approaches".[192]
Collectively, addressingcommon causes of death could extend lifespans of populations and humanity overall. For instance, a 2020 study indicates that the global meanloss of life expectancy (LLE) fromair pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for example, 0.3 years from all forms of direct violence, albeit a significant fraction of the LLE (a measure similar toyears of potential life lost) is considered to be unavoidable.[194]
Health policy and changes to standard healthcare could support the adoption of the field's conclusions – a review suggests that the longevity diet would be a "valuable complement to standard healthcare and that, taken as a preventative measure, it could aid in avoiding morbidity, sustaining health into advanced age" as a form ofpreventive healthcare.[148]
It has been suggested that in terms of healthy diets, Mediterranean-style diets could be promoted by countries for ensuring healthy-by-default choices ("to ensure the healthiest choice is the easiest choice") and with highly effective measures includingdietary education, foodchecklists andrecipes that are "simple, palatable, and affordable".[195]
A review suggests that "targeting the aging process per se may be a far more effective approach to prevent or delay aging-associated pathologies than treatments specifically targeted to particular clinical conditions".[196]
Low ambient temperature as a physical factor affecting free radical levels was identified as a treatment producing exceptional lifespan increase in Drosophila melanogaster and other living beings.[197]
As of 2017, some clinics offered injection ofblood plasma from young donors. The alleged benefits of the treatment, none of which had been proven, included a longer life.[198][199] The approach was based onparabiosis studies in mice.[199]
In 2019, after receiving anFDA warning letter to cease giving people plasma infusions, one American company that promoted the treatment,Ambrosia, withdrew from clinical trials it had conducted without FDA approval.[200] The FDA had stated "that some patients are being preyed upon by unscrupulous actors touting treatments of plasma from young donors as cures and remedies."[200]
One hypothetical future strategy that, as some suggest,[who?] "eliminates" the complications related to a physical body, involves the copying or transferring (e.g. by progressively replacing neurons with transistors) of a conscious mind from a biological brain to a non-biological computer system or computational device. The basic idea is to scan the structure of a particular brain in detail, and then construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.[206] Whether or not an exact copy of one's mind constitutes actual life extension is matter of debate.
However, critics argue that the uploaded mind would simply be a clone and not a true continuation of a person's consciousness.[207]
Some scientists believe that the dead may one day be "resurrected" through simulation technology.[208]
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^abScutti S (20 February 2019)."Young blood company stops unproven anti-aging treatments after FDA warning".CNN. Retrieved1 July 2025.There is no proven clinical benefit of infusion of plasma from young donors to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent these conditions, and there are risks associated with the use of any plasma product
^Sandberg A,Boström N (2008).Whole Brain Emulation: A Roadmap(PDF). Technical Report #2008-3. Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University. Retrieved7 March 2013.The basic idea is to take a particular brain, scan its structure in detail, and construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.
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