Is Immortality Within Your Reach?
Live to 2045, and you may just live long enough to experience immortality.
In their book, “TRANSCEND™: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever”, Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman , M.D., compare our human biology to computer software in need of a major upgrade – an upgrade they predict will be available by the year 2045.
By then, thanks to the Law of Accelerating Returns, information, medical-based technologies and artificial intelligence will far outshine the power of all human brains combined, allowing us the processes and technologies needed to extend our lifespans far beyond what’s achievable today.
When applied to today's biological limitations, Kurzweil and Grossman predict this growth will happen over three distinct metaphorical “bridges”, as outlined below:
Bridge One | Now
Bridge One | Now.
The goal of bridge one is to prevent and intercept the most common causes of death. This is accomplished through a mix of nutrition, exercise, supplementation, early diagnosis, and, by leveraging technologies and processes currently available to us today.
This means learning about how our system’s work, and establishing a lifestyle/routine that helps us with things like insulin control, immunity, methylation, atherosclerosis and cancer.
In their book, Kurzweil and Grossman outline some of the most common killers to look out for:
Atherosclerosis
The top killer among cardiovascular diseases, this inflammatory condition can be treated, and reversed, through healthy lifestyle changes like exercising, anti-inflammatory dietary choices, and aggressive supplementation with nutrients that reduce cholesterol.
Acidity/Alkaline Balance
Good health is dependent on maintaining a slightly high alkaline pH level. To achieve this, try and avoid acidic drinks like sodas, or excessive coffee and alcohol. Kurzweil and Grossman also recommend drinking pure alkalized water
Control Blood Glucose
More and more studies connect carbohydrates to high blood sugar (glucose), obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and a plethora of other health complications. These highly refined carbohydrates found in foods like white bread, refined sugar, and many other day-to-day staples, cause a rapid elevation in blood sugar, damaging our body’s ability to manage and regulate blood sugar.
In TRANSCEND, Ray and Terry recommend that people avoid simple carbohydrates and eat foods with a low glycemic load. What about the Keto Diet, you ask? While entering ketosis has many benefits, the long-term effects of cutting out carbohydrates have yet to be studied. As usual, we recommend seeing a physician before (and while) attempting any dramatic lifestyle or diet changes.
Bridge Two | 2025 - 2030
Bridge Two | 2025 − 2030.
Here, assisted by the biotechnological revolution, our biology can be reprogrammed to help us resist disease and eradicate any genetic propensities we have towards them. During this time, the use of gene therapy, stem cells, organ cloning and printing, replacement cells, etc, all work together to help us effectively turn back our biological clocks.
"I believe we will reach a point around 2029 when medical technologies will add one additional year every year to your life expectancy," says Kurzweil. "By that I don't mean life expectancy based on your birthdate, but rather your remaining life expectancy."
In one example, Kurzweil and Grossman predict a future where drugs will be able to turn off the body’s calorie-storage mechanisms, allowing us to eat as much as we want without experiencing the negative physical and health side effects. Sound far-fetched? Bridge two is a lot closer than you might think. See below:
Brain manipulation for weight-management.
Although experiments have been restricted to mice (to-date), researchers have developed a product called “Fexaramine” that tricks the body (only in mice at present) into thinking it has consumed calories, causing it to burn fat, by lower cholesterol, control blood sugar and minimize inflammation.
"There's some very exciting work being done with gene therapy," Kurzweil says. "We're understanding the triggers for diabetes and for the creation and eruption of vulnerable plaque. We're in the early stages of developing gene tools."
Genetic Regulatory Circuit Reduces Obesity
If you’re not keen on brain manipulation, biotechnologists in Zurich have designed an implantable genetic regulatory circuit that monitors blood-fat levels. When levels become excessive, a substance is produced that mimics fullness to the body. So far, tests on mice have proved as a viable weight-loss strategy.
Check out more on these, and an ever-growing list of breakthroughs technologies on the TRANSCEND Blog.
Bridge Three | 2045 "The Singularity"
Bridge Three | 2045.
The third bridge is when Kurzweil and Grossman predict humans will begin merging with machines, allowing us to extend our lives indefinitely. Here, highly-specialized, programmable nanobots the size of blood cells communicate and work together to replace neurons, blood cells and destroy infections, reversing degenerative changes and rewrite our genetic code.
These nanobots will effectively give us superhero-like abilities, like breathing underwater for prolonged periods of time, and even providing us instant access to limitless amounts of information online.
"We'll be able to provide full-immersion virtual reality from within the central nervous system," Kurzweil says. "‘Nanobots' could shut down the signals coming from your real nervous system and put in place signals you would be receiving if you were in the virtual environment. Designing new virtual environments will be a new art form."
At this stage, Kurzweil and Grossman predict an age of abundance, when manufacturing and energy will be nominal, and 1-3% of humanity will have the ability to feed the rest of the world with advanced agriculture. This is a time when we as a species are constantly iterating and reprogramming our systems in an effort to overcome human limitations and the world’s biggest challenges.
"This future isn't an alien invasion," Kurzweil says. "It's emerging from within our civilization, and it will literally be within us. It will be expanding human potential. That's what the drive of the human species is all about."
Regardless of your age, goals, or genetic predisposition… whether you aim to live forever, or achieve a better quality of life for longer, it’s encouraging to know there are steps you can take today to improve your chances of accomplishing those goals.
Wondering what step to take next?
Check out our resources section for more information on how to live well, forever.
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