Another Step Towards Eternal Youth

The scientific discoveries discussed in this Time article really are profound and another notch in the belt of the transhumanists. It also raises the possibility of continual "rejuvenations" such as those Robert Heinlein discussed in his books about Lazarus Long. According to the article:

“It’s clear that when you have alterations in [chromosome stability], the process of aging goes so quickly and so fast that it’s tempting to say, yes, this is the key process for driving aging,” says Belmonte.

Even more exciting, when he analyzed a population of stem cells taken from the dental pulp of both younger and older people, he found that the older individuals, aged 58 to 72 years, had fewer genetic markers for the chromosome instability while the younger people aged seven to 26 years showed higher levels of these indicators.

“What this study means is that this protein does not only work in a particular genetic disease, it works in all humans,” says Belmonte. “This mechanism is general for aging process.”

Of course, once this process becomes refined and monetized it will become the province of the wealthy. Unlike with plastic surgery, there will be no incentive to expand this technology beyond the wealthy because their eternal youth will remove the profit motive that produced democratization of plastic surgery's benefits. In essence the rich and ultra rich will be cemented in place, and relative social mobility will cease due to the ability of capital to replicate itself. Additionally, this technology, when monetized, will allow millionaires and their wealthier brethren to pursue other endeavors after entire careers in Finance, allowing them to dominate academia and politics as much as they like with all kinds of unintended consequences. It is likely that this technology also could prompt an eventual rebellion among those with normal life spans, but the wealthy likely would have the resources to put it down.