The End of Aging?

It’s 2008. If you live, or spend most of your time in a developed country, you’re exposed constantly to the hype of special diets, anti-aging serums, and huge varieties of drugs designed to change the way you look to fit in and boost self-esteem. However, in reality, what’s the point? I mean, it’s not like these methods will work indefinitely, right? Wrong.

Thanks to cutting edge research in genetics, artificial DNA can now be created in labs on demand. What’s more, this DNA has the benefit of being dominant when introduced to a cell; meaning if a scientist sequences a strand of DNA and injects it into a healthy cell, the new DNA will take over and the original DNA is erased.

Alright so, what’s the big deal? First, we have to examine the reason why we age in the first place. According to modern science research, aging is caused by the corruption of one’s DNA. This occurs due to things like UV radiation damaging your skin and releasing anti-DNA free radicals. As time goes on, we slowly begin to lose our ability to regenerate because of this weakened DNA, until the point where our bodies lose integrity and we eventually die.

Now, why is this artificial DNA important? The most major benefit to these new pioneering discoveries is that fact that the artificial DNA is dominant. Therefore, conceivably, if a scientist were to take DNA from the peak of a person’s life (aka. Maturity when physical growth is complete), generate fresh copies in a lab, and then implant them into the aged person’s body, through normal cell activity, this fresh DNA could be spread throughout the whole body. The outcome? Complete cellular restoration within three years (the time it takes for all the cells in the body to be replaced, on average).

What vehicles can be used such that the fresh DNA has full penetration within the body? The most popular answer would probably be a retrovirus. Viruses are unique in the fact that they replicate extremely fast and are very adept at spreading their contents throughout a host’s body. If someone were to take a particularly invasive virus, like HIV, and replace the viral DNA with human DNA, this infusion of fresh genetic material could be achieved in a very short amount of time. Just for illustration’s sake, on average, once exposed to HIV, it only takes about 30 minutes for the virus to replicate enough to be contagious.

Another idea is a nano-machine. Scientists, sci-fi writers, and imaginative people have been toying with the idea of machines too small to see with the naked eye that could serve the purpose of healing the body and performing surgery for several years. As technology becomes ever smaller, the possibility of such creations arising becomes only a question of “how long?” instead of “if ever”.

What does this mean? It means that we may finally have an answer to aging. However, science is imperfect, and such measures may not work in the long-run. Although one may be able to halt aging eventually through pursuits like these, it doesn’t stop the many thousands of causes of death we face during the courses of our lives. In my mind at least, I take some comfort in the fact that we may be closer to averting at least one.