I read about this from a science mag, but apparently they can do this with mice while it's not applicable to humans yet. There's an idea for a sci-fi horror story: life longevity experiments gone wrong with humans? Pretty common knowledge though?
I spotted anti-aging and longevity, but no mention of immortality. Did I miss something? I'm absolutely sure science will help us live longer and longer the further science advances, but even 1 000 000 000 years is not immortality. The snippet you posted discussed experiments done on mice. Guess what? They've already done "mind transfers" with mice as well, yet some scientists are very sceptical about that being possible with humans. At least once Robert J. White even managed to reattach one monkey's head on another's body and the Chinese have done that twice with dogs, so yeah, a full body transplant on humans may become a reality some day, but at this point it's science fiction. I'd say that's likely to become a reality sooner than immortality. Wanna bet on it? I'm willing to lay down 100e
if you really want magical sort of stuff, the closest you can get is setting it far into the future and making the technology super advanced.
So: What are some things you don't want to see in a Sci-Fi story, and what are some things you do want to see? Don't want: Characters that feel forced. While James Bond may be interesting, his life is far from the normal life of most people. The real world is populated by billions of normal people who do plenty of fantastic things. Reading a novel that is science fiction yet has a realistic, normal character would be a nice change. It doesn't mean they need to be normal for OUR world, but in a fantastic, over the top world, not everyone can be the unique flower space knight/mutant/ninja. There have been plenty of stories about them before. Space opera. Game of Thrones in Space might be cool, but a few too many space stories end up in epic battles. Planets that are somehow explored and monolithic. Our own world is partially unexplored. We've been here a while. Humanoid aliens. Things that are different are interesting. If aliens exist, they probably wouldn't be too compatible. Something unique in this field would be welcome. Talking animals. These show up in short stories often, and are just annoying. They feel more like wishful thinking and magic than science fiction. Any dog, or koala, or bird enhanced would be problematic. Do want: Realistic (in the bounds of the universe you create), character driven plots. Technology that has an explanation, even on a basic level. A human experience explained through science fiction. This is what great science fiction does. It shines a light on the human experience by exaggeration. Unique stories. Love those. Best of luck in whatever you end up creating.
Huh? Really? The head functioned properly? I wasn't saying they're on to immortality, I was saying they're on to anti aging. I have no idea how the experiments with the head transplants worked, but the theory for longevity should apply to humans as well as mice.
Though this goes well off topic... It is not for me to judge what did or did not happen. I wasn't there and the media is the last source of information I will believe as regards such inflammatory subjects. My own American Media Machine is only too well disposed to prostituting vague information into fishnet stocking clad "facts" in order to up reader/viewership, and we have one of the more well muzzled media machines. Extrapolate at your leisure. As for Hitler (again, wildly off-topic), I lived four years of my life in a building designed to replicate the Reich's Eagle . Der Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof.
Well, you failed to mention that you were only speaking of slowing down the aging process instead of the end of aging, stopping it completely. I would say my confusion is justified because you said: And when Minstrel asked for a clarification, you said it's common knowledge (that all it takes to end aging is a few rewrites in the human cell) and posted the snippet which had to do with slowing down aging, not ending it (immortality) with a few rewrites in the human cell. Kinda like me posting excerpts from the experiments on full body transplants done with mice/monkeys/dogs and saying all it takes to do the same with humans is connecting a few nerve endings and voilá, we can shift one person's brains into another person's body. Not quite. Oh, and long live snark, the spice of life! Anyway, the monkey died pretty soon (not of old age), but as long as it lived, the head functioned properly. As for the dogs, no idea. All I know is that the Chinese did succeed in FBTs with two dogs which, as I understood it, means the dogs lived at least some time (or lived happily ever after though I doubt it). If my memory serves me right, some scientists have managed to transplant the part of brains that contain the sense of self from one mouse into another successfully, but the problem is, we don't have the technology to reattach all the nerves etc. that run in the human head/brains since a mouse's physiology is a far cry from that of our own when it comes to complexity. Then again, when quantum computers arrive and end up in "mainstream" use, medicine will probably advance in leaps and bounds. I also bumped into this: Legit or not, I have no idea, but it sure as hell gets your ideas flowing.
Regardless of each of our views on the viability of it, I think the discussion we're having regarding immortality is precisely what science fiction is for - how does a scientific principle affect us, and how do we react to it
Oh, well yeah I mean I meant that genetic engineering in regards to telomerase is well known! And yes, right now it only slows down aging, but the holy grail behind anti aging could be closely related. A baby isn't dying, it's growing. Half the people on the forum (sorry oldies) are doing the opposite. At some point the body stops repairing itself. In theory, you could change it. Sometimes I make brash statements, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone here from appreciating the science. As far as that video, I'm going to say, not legit. But thanks for the heads up about the monkey transplants. Next time I'm in a similar debate on another forum, I will be sure to pass that along as common knowledge.
Yeah, I know, I was just being an ass. I don't really believe the video is legit, but my guess is, we'll be seeing FBTs done on humans in 50-100 years. Then again, it's hell difficult to predict the future now that we're on the verge of finally having quantum computers. Who knows what discoveries they will help people make. Btw, not sure if the monkey stuff is common knowledge (doesn't mean it couldn't be passed off as such though). I know about it simply because I'm so awesome. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go bask in my awesomeness.
