Lifeboat Foundation

The posthuman search for ‘actual’ eternal life seems the opposite of the argument of this unhelpful book, imo https://thewastedworld.wordpress.com/2018/11/24/dissolution-decay/ https://paper.li/e-1437691924

In closing, I wish to make some final remarks on the purpose of theorising a Posthuman Gothic. Far from being the joyous celebration of vitality, agency, and connection most touted by its proponents, under the Gothic sign the Posthuman takes on a far more ambivalent character. The Gothic looks to a world beyond us—even without us, or at least not for us—and so without knowing it, the Posthuman and the Gothic are already intertwined. Both look outside the human to the weird amalgamations of body and machine, spirit and dirt, and the eerie influences of systems far greater than we may know. The Posthuman project is twisted up not only in Gothic categories and aesthetics, but Gothic commitments: it displays a mixed fascination with the spectres of the past while looking to a future wrenched free from the decayed laws of the dead.

The Posthuman Gothic stands at a crossroads. On the one hand it sees the deep past emerging into the near future, as circuits of matter, whether technological or earthly, put to rest the myth of the autonomous human subject. On the other, it balances the experience of utter privation and dehumanisation with the escape from human finitude. Two angles arch away from the human, into that liminal space occupied by the Gothic, which keeps one foot grounded in the human, while the other hangs over the precipice. In short, the Posthuman Gothic makes known its haunting by a human past to better cast itself into futures more or less joyous, and more or less terrifying. Here the mixed feelings of the Gothic seep through the framework of the Posthuman. The Posthuman Gothic recognises that “there is an enjoyment in seeing the familiar and the conventional become outmoded,” and that it is only in the death of the present that other futures may be imagined (Fisher 2016, 13).

Continue reading “Dissolution & Decay: Traits of the Posthuman Gothic” »

Today, we want to highlight a study that shows the link between atherosclerosis and the age-related shrinking of the thymus, which is arguably the most important organ of the immune system [1].

The adaptive and innate immune systems and atherosclerosis

The thymus is essentially like an army base where new T cells develop and are trained to become the soldiers of the adaptive immune system. However, as we age, the thymus shrinks, its ability to train new T cells declines, and the immune cell-producing tissue turns to fat and slowly wastes away; this process is known as thymic involution.

The gap between the life expectancy of the richest and poorest sectors of society in England is increasing, according to new research from Imperial College London.

The research, published in the journal Lancet Public Health, also reveals that the life expectancy of England’s poorest women has fallen since 2011, in what researchers say is a “deeply worrying” trend.

The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, analysed Office for National Statistics data on all deaths recorded in England between 2001 and 2016—7.65 million deaths in total.

Continue reading “Poorest dying nearly 10 years younger than the rich in ‘deeply worrying’ trend for UK” »

In a world first, a patient with Parkinson’s disease has undergone transplant therapy, which uses reprogrammed stem cells to replace neurons destroyed by the disease.

Stem cell therapy is part of the toolkit

The stem cell field is an area of science that is relatively well funded and, out of all the branches of medical science relevant to aging, is probably the most understood by the public. In the last decade or so, progress in stem cell research has been rapid, and scientists now have a wide range of cell types they can create on demand via cellular programming.

Continue reading “Parkinson’s Disease Patient in World First Stem Cell Therapy” »

On the growing life expectancy gap between the rich and the poor in England, a new study. I noticed that tendency years ago between whole nations and minority or social groups. I proposed that we concentrate on scientific research for indefinite lifespans so that a few years difference would not matter (Lens-Pechakova, Rejuvenation Res. 2014 Apr;17:239–42), but still life extension is not on the agenda.

The gap between the life expectancy of the richest and poorest sectors of society in England is increasing.

This is the finding of new research from Imperial College London.

Continue reading “Poorest dying nearly ten years younger than the rich in ‘deeply worrying’ trend” »

At the Eurosymposium on Healthy Ageing, we had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Marco Demaria of the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing.

In this interview with Elena Milova, Dr. Demaria primarily talks about senescent cells, their role in age-related diseases, and methods of controlling them. Among the ways of controlling them include blocking the inflammatory signals they secrete, destroying them with senolytic drugs, and boosting the immune system to remove them naturally.

Continue reading “Eurosymposium on Healthy Ageing – Dr. Marco Demaria” »

Come and spend an evening in the company of Dr. Aubrey de Grey when he visits Monaco on November 29th.

World-renowned biogerontologist Dr. Aubrey de Grey was the first person to awaken me to the idea that aging could be seen as something repairable, not just to be accepted as inevitable, and that such an approach would inevitably lead to much longer healthy lifespans, with more time to fulfill our dreams and potential, more time to learn, more time to give something to the world and just more time to enjoy being alive.

I first met Aubrey in 2009 when I helped to interpret a talk for him in Narbonne, France, as I had recently moved to the south of France, and there I also met healthy longevity activist Didier Coeurnelle from Belgium, who was just founding his association, Heales, with Sven Bulterijs. Didier became a good friend and has since been almost as tireless as Aubrey in his efforts to promote healthy longevity.

As the shock-absorbing cartilage discs between our vertebrae degenerate due to aging, accidents or overuse, severe back pain can result. While some scientists have developed purely synthetic replacement discs, a recent test on goats indicates that bioengineered discs may be a better way to go.

The latest podcast with Liz Parrish with Elite Man Magazine. Her story, how she intends to tackle disease, and how she views the future. Once we have cured all diseases, we can color our skin green and our eyes purple. Wow!

Check out this incredible interview with BioViva CEO Liz Parrish as she talks about how to stop aging, grow taller, build incredible muscle mass, and reverse disease using gene therapy!