Aubrey de Grey in EMBO Reports
This will chiefly be of interest to those of you with a subscription to the journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization or $20 to spend on per-article access; Aubrey de Grey has a sharp, to the point article in the latest issue entitled "Curing Aging and the Consequences." (That's doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400354 for those who use that methodology). Some teasers:
There is a consensus within society that ageing is not a disease and therefore not an appropriate target for the biomedical approach. That's the problem....
The idea that one engenders unwarranted optimism by talking about serious life extension is disgraceful. We now have comprehensive and reasonable ideas for how to cure ageing. That turns the irresponsibility the other way around. It means one is irresponsible to remain silent, because that simply perpetuates the pessimism in the public. That in turn means that research doesn't get funded and lives are lost. I'm very strongly of the view that it's irresponsible to remain silent now.
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I think it's important to be realistic about it. For each problem one has to think about the options. For example, pensions. The fact that we've got laws at the moment that say everyone gets a pension over 65 doesn't mean we can't change the law. Pensions exist for frail people, and there won't be any frail people. Retirement will still exist but it will be a periodic voluntary thing.