Immortality? - Revolutionary membrane can keep your heart beating perfectly forever

nugget1
If science is going to take death out of the equation for us old folks, what the he11 do we have to look forward to?

I rather look forward to a new and exciting journey on 'the other side' when my work here is done.

I dont understand people like you who would rather die then to live!

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


You do realise this works both ways right!!!

2nd!

Peace!!!

CharlieSpeirs
reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

 

You do realise this works both ways right!!!

2nd!

Peace!!!

Yes but you are more likely to live a long life than a short one.

The downside would be over-population though... there would have to be some sort of restriction on how many children a couple could have.

swanne
reply to post by freakjive

 

They should find a way to keep te brain from degrading too, though.

I think you just might have ruined the final episode of the walking dead and how the zombie apocalypse came about.

Spruce
Why does everyone want to live forever? Don't you people ever get tired?

I don't want to live forever. It's not natural or normal.

I dont mind living forever as long as whole body isn't aging & decaying, no use having a strong beating heart when body fails & the opposite sex no longer find you attractive. If we can delay aging & we can be healthy without the side effects aging has such as aches or pains, then id be more then happy to live forever.

TruthxIsxInxThexMist
The downside would be over-population though... there would have to be some sort of restriction on how many children a couple could have.

Nope, I wouldn't worry too much about this. Judging from the responses in this thread, it seems like most people won't be interested in immortality when it becomes available. Only a small percentage will increase their lifespan. The rest will strive to make their lives shorter, self-destructive habits helping. Global life expectancy will drop, though the birth rates might still continue to soar, but that won't be immortality's fault.

It would be awesome if humanity as a whole embraced the possibilites of indefinite life extension, but sadly I don't see this happening. Well, c'est la vie, to each his own. As long as the deathists don't try to push their beliefs upon us, it's fine.

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


I get the feeling you felt I was referring to your first reply about heart problems like Cardiac Arrest...

I actually meant your response of wanting to live over wanting to die...
Not to say I want to die right now, but I'd much prefer to pass over than survive for beyond a century!!!
We'd have great hearts but everything else would be falling apart!

Star for you though, I totally agree it's an amazing breakthrough for those with shorter life expectancy!!

Overpopulation would become a problem...
& with so many of the population in a senile state, with many other underlying health problems we haven't "fixed", who would look after that many people?
Healthcare would collapse under the weight of so many to care for!!!
& the need for more Nurses & Doctors would put a strain on the economy with less workers outside of healthcare!!!

It's hard to see an upside except for the children we could help with this!!!


Peace!

Is this what Dick Cheney has?

Just wondering.

CharlieSpeirs
Overpopulation would become a problem...
& with so many of the population in a senile state, with many other underlying health problems we haven't "fixed", who would look after that many people?
Healthcare would collapse under the weight of so many to care for!!!
& the need for more Nurses & Doctors would put a strain on the economy with less workers outside of healthcare!!!

If this device was the only life extension technology available, then yes, you would be right. This device alone is insufficent to achieve immortality in a desirable manner.

But it's just one among the many avenues that are now being explored. The goal of the life extension movement is to reverse the course of aging. To reverse it. People using it would become work-eligible youth again. No one would need to look after them, it would effectively reduce the strain on healthcare and economy!

reply to post by Cathcart


"Deathists"?
"Push their beliefs"?
The sole reason that this is a belief is because is a stone cold fact that our physical vessel is to become a stone cold corpse!
There is no agenda to push death on people!
It's just a common realisation!

I found what you said to be horrendous to be fair!
This is the circle of life, not the never ending story!

However I will respect your opinion, as long as you accept not to accept eternal lifest's pushing their beliefs on people!


Peace!

reply to post by Cathcart


Apologies if I sound overly skeptical, but this seems to be a human version of reversing the Earth's revolution around the Sun in the opposite direction!!!

How about reversing Cancer?
Or Memory loss?
Or bone density?
These things are not preventable as time goes!

Compared to continuing a heart beat with electrical vibration...
That would be the equivalent of building your own little garden(heart)... To terra forming a gas giant like Jupiter(healing everything else)!!!

I digress, but this idea of eternal life seems to be the ultimate selfishness of humanity!

Why do we need more time?
If you can convince me of this I will adhere to a much more positive outlook!

Better still, how would we cope with eternity mentally? Knowing we'll never meet up with loved ones we have lost who await our arrival in paradise?
Sorry to get spiritual, but put into perspective if we were meant to survive forever in this physical realm, we'd already be built that way!
IMO.

Peace!

A thought occured to me...just musing about this membrane and it's properties and wondered whether or not this could be used on a larger scale for the lungs as well as the heart?

If a larger version surrounded the lungs in addition to one keeping the heart beating, this might be able to act as a kind of internal respirator and do away with the need for CPR altogether.

If the lungs are forced to contract and expand as the membrane expanded and contracted, by combining the electrical side of the membrane with an electroactive polymer (EAP)..this ought to draw air in and expell it when the membrane contracted, more or less forcing your lungs to breath in and out.

reply to post by MysterX


Regulation of the Heartbeat has no real drawback effects!!!

Regulating the Lungs when we need to decide how much oxygen we breathe is a recipe for Brain Damage!!!
On the treadmill, running a marathon, any excessive workout would need Human decision on how much breathe control was needed!
If we were regulated to a constant, regular inhale/exhale that would not help in getting oxygen to the Brain!!!


Peace!

reply to post by CharlieSpeirs


It wouldn't be perfect, and probably couldn't support a full and deep breath rate...but as an emergency measure, i could see such an innovation acting in a kind of rapid panting action.

Short, rappid and shallow breaths of air, activated by similar contractions and expansions of the EAP membrane.

It wouldn't be a permanent or long term solution, just like CPR isn't..but it could keep people supplied with air long enough and safely enough until professional aid arrived i think.

ETA;

In theory, if it could be made to work, this might be an option for predetermined vulnerable groups i expect.

Soldiers going into battle, those with heart and lung problems and other lung function impaired people...i'm not saying i imagine this could be someting that could be fitted to someone while they're gasping for breath following a trauma...(or else CPR or a ventilator would be used instead) but more as a kind of insurance policy for those people who stand a higher chance of needed artificial lung stimulation that anyone esle would.

Korg Trinity
reply to post by freakjive

 

I spotted this earlier today. it's fantastic news...

There will always be the doom and gloomers... people saying stuff like the above or that be careful it could be hacked by an android device kind of rubbish.

But the truth is The governments of the world NEED us to live longer... they need us to be paying our taxes and do away with welfare in old age.

This is the single reason why our longevity is indeed going to be extended by a significant value.

Peace,

Korg.

edit on 4-3-2014 by Korg Trinity because: (no reason given)

No. They want us to die as soon as we become eligible for SS. They then can extract the estate taxes and save a ton on benefit payments.

CharlieSpeirs
"Deathists"?
"Push their beliefs"?
The sole reason that this is a belief is because is a stone cold fact that our physical vessel is to become a stone cold corpse!
There is no agenda to push death on people!

If there's no agenda to push death on people, then why are there opponents to life extension research? Bioethicists such as Leon Kass, for example. Why would they need to advocate a stone cold fact? Same for Francis Fukuyama, which even spoke in favor of government ban of life extension. A government ban? And you say there's no agenda? Hmm.

CharlieSpeirs
I found what you said to be horrendous to be fair!
This is the circle of life, not the never ending story!

If this is the circle of life, then surely nature wouldn't allow otherwise, right? Aging is natural, after all...

6 Unassuming Animals That Are Secretly Immortal

What's this? Nature being unnatural?

CharlieSpeirs
However I will respect your opinion, as long as you accept not to accept eternal lifest's pushing their beliefs on people!

Life extension proponents do not want to push this technology on people, period. It's against their principles. It's all about choice, all about having control over your life. We will respect your decision, but please return the favor, ok?

CharlieSpeirs
Apologies if I sound overly skeptical, but this seems to be a human version of reversing the Earth's revolution around the Sun in the opposite direction!!!

People used to think likewise about flying, you know. Then airplanes came along. Progress involves breaking boundaries.

CharlieSpeirs
How about reversing Cancer?

Curing cancer is the top priority of ongoing medical research. A tremendous quantity of money and efforts are invested each year towards this goal. It will most likely be achieved in the next decade or so, which is great news. Are you saying we shouldn't fight cancer because it is natural?

CharlieSpeirs
Or Memory loss?

Alzheimer is also among the top priorities. The sooner we get rid of this the better.

CharlieSpeirs
These things are not preventable as time goes!

For now. More and more disorders are becoming preventable, I'm sure you're aware.

CharlieSpeirs
I digress, but this idea of eternal life seems to be the ultimate selfishness of humanity!

Selfishness is placing your interests above the well-being of others. You are selfish to others, you cannot be selfish to yourself. Seeking to improve your situation is not selfishness. Having concern for your own well-being is not selfishness.

CharlieSpeirs
Why do we need more time?
If you can convince me of this I will adhere to a much more positive outlook!

What's important to you in life? What do you love doing, what's the reason you wake up in the morning and look forward to the next day?

Well, whatever your answer is, more time means more of that.

CharlieSpeirs
Better still, how would we cope with eternity mentally? Knowing we'll never meet up with loved ones we have lost who await our arrival in paradise?
Sorry to get spiritual, but put into perspective if we were meant to survive forever in this physical realm, we'd already be built that way!
IMO.

I am also quite a bit spiritual myself, or at least open to the possibility. But if you miss your loved ones so much and want to be reunited with them, then you can just choose to end your immortality. You can sign off any moment. That's the plan. This is life extension, after all, you can extend it as you wish.

reply to post by CharlieSpeirs


There is a lot of work continually being done on the Brain right now, I'm sure one day things like 'Dementia' 'Amnesia' would be curable by the invention of some type of pill to prevent it, to prevent the parts of your Brain which cause those mentioned to pre-vail!

I'm not a Biologist, Scientist, Doctor or Surgean but here are a couple of links with info on cures for 'Dementia' dated Dec 2013:

www.bbc.co.uk...

A little bit of the report:

A dementia brain scan will also be introduced for some NHS patients with complicated symptoms.

It could help rule out Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, by hunting for damaged proteins in the brain.

A radioactive marker which binds to amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, will be injected. If there is amyloid in the brain then the tracer will show up on brain scans.

This link on Amnesia Remedies is a good one.

www.medindia.net...

reply to post by Cathcart


You made some excellent points there CC!

I don't want to just seem argumentative, even on a website for debate, so I will leave it there rather than seeming to be a Deathist!

I will only add that life-expectancy rising from 35 to late 70s is pretty much all the life-extension I would prefer!

I wasn't calling you selfish either... I was speaking of those who have not mentioned healthcare of others, only speaking of living for eternity!


Peace!

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


Thank you Truth!

I look forward to reading the articles!

Good news is always great to hear! Especially if it concerns healthcare!


Peace!