MEDFUTURE: PREVENTION. TECHNOLOGY. LONG LIFE
Most of our perceptions about human life in the 21st century will be overturned. Among these, the "pro-aging" attitude, that is, the belief and resignation to the inevitability of death, will completely change.
Many experts believe that within 10 to 15 years, we will add a year to our longevity for every year we live, which will push our life expectancy further into the future. This means that today, those in their early fifties can have hope of outliving death. The younger ones, although they do not realize it yet, are the first generations of immortals.
We are aware that this introduction may seem overwhelming, as it touches on a very controversial subject. However, anyone who closely follows the advances in longevity can only conclude that there is a real potential for realization. Indeed, humanity will experience a transformation on different technological levels: artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, robotics and cognitive sciences.
At the heart of this revolution is biotechnology, which is the application of scientific and engineering principles to living organisms that will allow us to live longer and healthier. Dr. Aubrey de Grey, a renowned bio-gerontologist makes the analogy with the automobile in his book "Ending aging" by asking: how long can it last? Of course, if maintenance is neglected, many problems will be visible before long and its life span will not be very long. So it depends a lot on the preventive maintenance, the type of use and the environment. If we pay attention to the way we use the vehicle, anticipate the problems, repair the damages, change the parts from time to time with new materials and new technologies, then our car can last a long time.
It is much the same with humans. Even if we still don't fully understand how the body works, why it ages and why certain diseases appear, our understanding is increasing exponentially, whether it is at the level of the human genome, proteomes, chemical processes and different metabolisms. Several strategies to slow down aging are being put in place, research is increasing and many scientists, including Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, authors of the book "Transcend, nine steps to living forever", believe that within the next twenty years we will be able to stop aging and even reverse it.
This brings us to Medfuture's raison d'être, which is to be a facilitator and companion to improve the longevity of our clients through prevention, the use of advanced technology and the practice of personalized medicine.
This adventure can be described in 3 technological phases, as described by Kurzweil & Grossman in their book
The first phase (today-2030)
The first goal is to prevent and intercept the most common causes of death. This is accomplished through a combination of nutrition, exercise, supplementation, early diagnosis and taking advantage of currently available technologies and processes. For example, one of the most reliable diagnostics to date for knowing one's biological age is testing one's telomere length. In fact, cells stop dividing when telomeres become too short. Therefore, the length of telomeres is considered an excellent biomarker of the regeneration capacity of a tissue and thus, of the aging of the organism. When it comes to supplements, one of the best examples is TRU NIAGEN®, a unique form of vitamin B3 that is clinically proven to safely increase your cells' ability to produce energy by increasing levels of NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), thereby providing energy to sirtuins that dramatically reduce the rate at which telomeres deteriorate, allowing our cells to live longer and work more efficiently.
These are just a few examples of strategies available today that help increase our longevity and thus reach the second technological era.
The second phase (2030-2045)
Here, with the help of the biotechnological revolution, we will be able to correct several cellular damages that accumulate over time in our body and thus avoid most of the deadly diseases. These damages have been identified by the Dr. Aubrey de Grey Research Foundation as:
|
Damage caused by aging |
Discovery year |
Biotechnology for rejuvenation |
|
Cellular loss, tissue atrophy |
1955 1 |
Stem cells and tissue engineering: RepleniSENS |
|
Cancer cells |
1959 2 , 1982 3 |
Withdrawal of telomere lengthening machines: OncoSENS |
|
Mitochondrial mutations |
1972 4 |
|
|
Cells resistant to death |
1965 5 |
Targeted ablation: ApoptoSENS |
|
Rigidification of the extracellular matrix |
1958 6 , 1981 7 |
AGE-breaking molecules; tissue engineering: GlycoSENS |
|
Extracellular aggregates |
1907 8 |
|
|
Intracellular aggregates |
1959 9 |
New lysosomal hydrolases: LysoSENS |
Genetic therapies, stem cells and replacement cells, cloning and organ printing, etc., will be common practice, all working in synergy to stabilize our biological clocks.
The third phase (2045 - )
At that point, humans will begin to merge with machines, we will simply be cyborgs. Literature on this near future abounds, including Flesh and Machines: how robots will change us by MIT roboticist Rodney Brooks, who gave an overview of labs where robots were being developed, and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, where author Ray Kurzweil talks about a world where humans and machines unite, increasing the capabilities, knowledge, speed, "transportability" and "transferability" of the thought process.
The arrival of highly specialized, programmable nanorobots (or nanobots), the size of blood cells, will communicate and work together to replace neurons, blood cells and destroy infections, reversing degenerative changes and rewriting our genetic code.
The world at that time
At this stage of technological advancement, we will live in a world of abundance.
Peter Diamandis (founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, a pioneer in space aviation) and Steven Kotler (best-selling author and science journalist), describe it in their book "Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think", a book recognized and highlighted by the business, political and scientific communities.
They explain how advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, infinite computing, ubiquitous broadband networks, digital manufacturing, nanomaterials, synthetic biology, and many other exponentially growing technologies will allow us to make greater gains in the next two decades than in the previous two hundred years. We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet with water, food, energy, health, education and freedom.
Abundance for all is within our reach.
And now, why Medfuture?
Regardless of your age, genetic disposition, goals or beliefs, whether you want to live forever or simply improve your quality of life, you need to know that you can take concrete steps today to improve your chances of achieving those goals.
At Medfuture, we want to make the most of this adventure that is life. We do it for us first and we share it with you.
Our mission: To improve the longevity of our clients through prevention, the use of advanced technology and the practice of personalized medicine.
Our vision: To put the individual in control of his health, his most precious possession, so that he can live as long as possible.
Prevention. Technology. Long life.
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Notable references of initiatives aimed at increasing human longevity:
Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems. The scientific megaproject of Initiative 2045 is aimed at creating technologies allowing the transfer of an individual's personality to a more advanced non-biological vector, and extending life, including to immortality.
Calico is a biotechnology company founded on by Google, in the secret Google X Lab, with the declared aim of focusing on the challenge of the fight against aging and associated diseases with the project of Killing death. In recent years, Google has become one of the main sponsors of the transhumanist movement, notably through its massive financial support of nanotechnology, biotechnology, computer science and cognitive science (NBIC) companies.
http://www.humanlongevity.com/
The company focuses on the study of the microbiome, genomics, bioinformatics and stem cell therapies to extend life. It offers services including genomic analysis, personalized vaccines and cell therapies, and is developing the Health Nucleus program for personalized medicine.
Transhumanism is an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to understand and evaluate the ways in which technological advances can overcome our biological limitations. Transhumanists seek to develop technical possibilities so that people live longer and healthier lives while increasing their intellectual, physical and emotional capacities.
List of research laboratories on aging in the world.
Lists of companies and start-ups working on extending human longevity.