Biological Immortality and You

(LocalOrg) - Old age and resulting death is a condition, and like all conditions it can, and will inevitably be treated. Already in nature, evolution has left certain organisms endowed with what is known as "biological immortality," where the cells of the organism are continuously renewed without deteriorating over time. Of course, disease, predation, and environmental conditions can cause the otherwise untimely death of such organisms, but barring these exceptions, in theory they could perpetuate themselves indefinitely.

The New York Times in their 2012 article, "Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?" reported that:

Sommer kept his hydrozoans in petri dishes and observed their reproduction habits. After several days he noticed that his Turritopsis dohrnii was behaving in a very peculiar manner, for which he could hypothesize no earthly explanation. Plainly speaking, it refused to die. It appeared to age in reverse, growing younger and younger until it reached its earliest stage of development, at which point it began its life cycle anew.

The Times also reported on the discovery of what is now called the "immortal jellyfish" and the paper published upon its discovery, "Reversing the Life Cycle," that:

Yet the publication of “Reversing the Life Cycle” barely registered outside the academic world. You might expect that, having learned of the existence of immortal life, man would dedicate colossal resources to learning how the immortal jellyfish performs its trick. You might expect that biotech multinationals would vie to copyright its genome; that a vast coalition of research scientists would seek to determine the mechanisms by which its cells aged in reverse; that pharmaceutical firms would try to appropriate its lessons for the purposes of human medicine; that governments would broker international accords to govern the future use of rejuvenating technology. But none of this happened.

However, it is very unlikely that "none of this happened." Since the beginning of recorded history, man, and in particular, the ruling elite have sought - after conquering all else - to defeat the last threat to the ill-gotten wealth and power they have accumulated over their lifespans - death. It is said the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, died of mercury poisoning while experimenting with potions thought to grant extended life.The Philosopher's Stone was pursued throughout the Middle Ages by alchemists both for its ability to transmutate lead into gold, and for its role in producing an "elixir of life" granting its users immortality.

It is only in modern times that mainstream talking points seem to encourage people to crawl into their graves contently and without struggle, with even national health care systems writing off patients as hopeless and drains on the system, better off dead. Strange that as technology now stands to grant humanity one of its most sought-after goals, we face what seems a concerted effort to acquaint the general population with the concept of gladly embracing death.

more here: http://localorg.blogspot.com/2013/03/biological-immortality-and-you.html