Other than resolving genetic incorrectness, recent discoveries in regenerative medicine show it is a matter of time before our bodies can effectively repair advanced organ damage by itself. With these findings it is likely we will be able to defend our bodies against injury, deformity, and disease. The ultimate medical treatment would be to change an abnormal organ or tissue back to its vibrant, normal state.
Another fascinating regenerative medicine experiment with genetically identical mice of different ages demonstrates that an infusion of young blood helps old muscles to heal as though they too were young. This experiment shows that recovering from injury could dramatically speed up, especially with elderly people.
Regenerative medicine is primarily based on stem cell research. Stem cells are unprogrammed cells in the human body that can continue dividing forever and can change into other types of cells. Because stem cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other specialized types of cells, they have the potential to treat many diseases, including Alzheimer, Parkinson’s, cancer and diabetes. They are found in embryos at very early stages of development (embryonic stem cells) and in some adult organs, such as bone marrow and brain (adult stem cells).
The first crop of simple stem cell therapies for regenerative medicine might be only a few years away from widespread availability. Regenerative medicine will, in future, result in extended healthy lifespans, as we will be able to repair some of the damage caused by aging.
Earlier observations have shown that since 1840 life expectancy has risen linearly for men and women, albeit more slowly for men. Now the linearity of this life expectancy might disruptively be changed in light of new discoveries in regenerative medicine. What would be the impact on society and the way we plan our lives when we can easily add quite some years to ones life expectancy? Also diseases we encounter will rapidly be a thing of the past as every abnormality can quickly be discovered, cured, altered or prevented, without necessarily deeply entering the body, but instead change a tissue’s properties from the outside.
Maybe the smart healing device dr. Spock is waving around in Star Trek might actually become reality sooner than we think. New discoveries quickly make way to a potential disruptive healthy and lengthy lifespan.
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The Star Trek device you are referring to was called a ‘Tricorder‘ and was used by doctor McCoy to scan for illnesses and cure them. Such a device is already a reality, and has been so for decades. It is called SCENAR, and was developed by the Russians during the space race: “The device weighs around 300 gm, resembles a TV remote control and is powered by an ordinary 9v. battery. It is placed on the skin of the chest, head, abdomen or any diseased part, where it collects electromagnetic signals. These are then modulated according to the on-board software programme and played back to the tissues.” This device, would of course improve greatly if it was able to actually regenerate tissue (if that will ever go as fast as needed for the Star Trek effect).
It does pose an interesting question indeed. As you mention: what would happen if our life expectancy would increase dramatically? Would that mean that we would live longer lives, or would only the quality of life improve (or both)? If the longevity would increase, this will have tremendous impact on society. Especially if people still retire at the age of 65. A younger generation would then have to pay all those pensions for…60 years? That would probably create an unsustainable future.
But, with the advances in medicine like you are describing, people would become more healthy (?). Then wouldn’t that mean that people could work longer, thus creating the solution to the problem of ‘grey pressure’.
In any case, we youngsters might be able to do something in return for our parents (or trade with them?): give them ‘rejevenating blood’ if I understand correctly.
if we would have to work longer it might finally be necessary to make work fun!!
“If you cut off a spider’s leg, it’s crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish’s leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.”