The Longevity Meme picks the most helpful introductory articles on healthy life extension for publication. We hope you find them a helpful, informative resource. Activism and Advocacy Calorie Restriction, Lifestyle and Diet Cryonics Healthy Life Extension Introductory Articles Science, Scientists and Research The Healthy Life Extension Community Links to Articles on the Web

Activism and Advocacy

Activism for Healthy Life Extension by Devon Fowler Despite widespread apathy, disinterest and ignorance of science in our society, there has been a real growth in size and sophistication of healthy life extension communities in the past few years. As a group united in our vision for a better future, we have come to the point of being able to say: "We want to live healthily for longer. We want real, meaningful healthy life extension therapies. What shall we do to make it all happen?" This is the key question! Why I Joined The Three Hundred by Michael Rae Michael Rae explains why he has chosen to join The Three Hundred and offer his support to the Methuselah Mouse Prize for serious anti-aging research.

Calorie Restriction, Lifestyle and Diet

Less Calories, More Life by Ian Williams Goddard Can caloric restriction extend human lifespan? Some Non-Original Thoughts on Diet, Health, and Longevity by Phil Graves Phil Graves outlines some of his thoughts on life extension through calorie restriction and other forms of diet.

Cryonics

Why Cryosuspension Makes Sense, Part 1 by Terry Grossman, M.D. We're all genetically programmed to die, but advances in nanomedicine are expected to allow for "radical life extension" by 2050. Meanwhile, there's cryostasis--freezing the body immediately after death with a view toward resuscitation in the future. Why Cryosuspension Makes Sense, Part 2 by Terry Grossman, M.D. The bottom line, of course, boils down to one very basic question: Can it really work? Can once-viable living tissue be frozen solid or vitrified into a glass-like state, hard as a rock, and then be defrosted and revived?

Healthy Life Extension

Caution and the Way Forward by Max More and Reason Max More, Extropy Institute founder, here examines the reasons behind the excessive caution and rejection of healthy life extension research by Leon Kass, Francis Fukuyama and others. What is the best way forward for a world in which the precautionary principle is used to stifle medical progress? Death is an Outrage by Robert A. Freitas Jr. While you were reading this sentence, a dozen people just died, worldwide. There. Another dozen people have perished. I think this is an outrage. I want to tell you why I think so, and what nanomedicine can do to help. This article is taken from a lecture delivered by the author at the Fifth Alcor Conference on Extreme Life Extension, 16 November 2002, Newport Beach, CA. More extensive original lecture materials are also available online at the my web site. From Fantastic Voyage by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. Read about the vision that Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman have for the future of healthy life extension, reprinted with permission from their new book, Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever. From More Than Human by Ramez Naam Ramez Naam examines the future of population in the light of advancing healthy life extension technologies, a discussion reprinted with permission from his book More Than Human. Nanotechnology and Life Extension by Chris Phoenix Don't be put off by the title! Chris Phoenix, co-founder of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, has penned a very accessible primer on the role of tiny machines in the future of medicine. These are the technologies that we hope will keep us all healthy in years to come. This article first appeared as a chapter in "Doctor Tandy's First Guide To Life Extension And Transhumanity." Superlongevity Without Overpopulation by Max More The Scientific Conquest of Death: Essays on Infinite Lifespans, a book published by the Immortality Institute, examines many of the social as well as technological aspects of the future of healthy life extension. Max More's contribution to The Scientific Conquest of Death, reprinted here with permission, handily demonstrates that fear of overpopulation is not a legitimate objection to greatly extending the healthy human life span. The Tithonus Option is Not an Option by Chris Lawson Anti-ageing technology may present us with the awful scenario of extended lifespan but limited improvement in quality of life. Living forever -- or at least for long periods of time -- with dementia is known as "The Tithonus Option." This paper argues that the Tithonus Option is unlikely to eventuate.

Introductory Articles

Life Long! Live Free! by Russel Blackford Russell Blackford is an Australian writer. This article is based, in part, on his "Life Extension and its Enemies", Quadrant magazine, December 1999. The Case Against Aging by Nick Bostrom More and more researchers now agree that radical human life extension is only a matter of time. Aging is a biochemical process and humans will learn how to intervene in it and slow it down. Abolishing aging is theoretically possible. It is a goal that is not quite within reach yet, but it will be one day. This Wonderful Lengthening of Lifespan by Bruce J. Klein Bruce J. Klein, director at the non-profit Immortality Institute, discusses the lengthening of human lifespan past, present and future. Huge gains have been made, and there is more to come from the medicine of tomorrow. Winning the War Against Aging by João Pedro de Magalhães From the pages of THE FUTURIST, João Pedro de Magalhães asks "why die?" There may soon be nothing preventing great-grandparents from being as agile in body and mind as their descendants are. João's previous article for THE FUTURIST, "The One-Man Rule," was published in November-December 2002.

Science, Scientists and Research

Closing in on the Cure for Death by Aubrey de Grey Time is on your side if you're under 30, suggests biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey in an optimistic discussion of healthy life extension. With more than 20 first-author publications in the past six years, de Grey is a leader in turning healthy life extension hopes into reality. This article is based on an interview by Shannon Foskett originally published at Betterhumans. You can find out more about Aubrey de Grey's work at his website. From The Genomics Age by Gina Smith Read interviews with some of the scientists working hard to extend our healthy life spans, reprinted with permission from Gina Smith's The Genomics Age: How DNA is Transforming the Way We Live and Who We Are. Pieces of the Puzzle: Aging Research Today and Tomorrow by Dr. Leonid A. Gavrilov Dr. Leonid A. Gavrilov gives us a fascinating tour of the current state of aging research, suggestions for the future, and an overview of some of his most interesting work. More of Dr. Gavrilov's scientific work can be found his website. Some selected works of interest are linked from the Longevity Meme for ease of viewing. The Curious Case of the Catatonic Biogerontologists by Aubrey de Grey Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) is a detailed plan for curing human aging. It's detailed, thorough and firmly based on established experimental work in the various relevant areas of biology. So, you may well ask, where's the catch? Why, on all the many documentaries on aging that remain so popular, don't my colleagues come out and advocate the same work that I advocate? This is an edited version of the original piece appearing at the SENS website.

The Healthy Life Extension Community

Bio-Luddite Nation by George Dvorsky Critics of life extension fear what they believe to be the risks of longer lives but don't acknowledge the immorality, danger and difficulty of enforcing death. The original article appeared in Betterhumans in 2004. This version is reprinted with permission. Death Sucks by Phil Bowermaster Phil Bowermaster, ringleader at The Speculist, taps the primal human views of death. What are the roots of inspiration for the fight against aging and the quest to live longer, healthier lives? Read on to find out. Pro-life by Brenda Cooper Brenda Cooper of Futurist.com visits with Extropians, finding them exhuberantly bullish on the future. The Beginnings of a Cryonics Community in Arizona by John Grigg John Grigg is General Manager-in-training and hard worker at the Creekside Preserve Lodge. Here, he shares some of his enthusiasm about this venture by David Pizer, formerly of Alcor.

Links to Articles on the Web

Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant A marvellous fable by philosopher Nick Bostrom illustrates the true toll of age-related death, a horror that most people willfully refuse to acknowledge. Forever Young An excellent article from Ronald Bailey on the scientific search for immortality. The Mechanisms of Aging Ben Best explains the mechanisms of aging in clear language. Know your enemy! Why Life Extension Ben Best gives a concise answer to the question that is often asked of healthy life extension advocates: Why live longer?