WOW 
Sunday, 20. August 2006
Exploring Life Extension
The desire to overcome death is nothing new. The 'Epic of Gilgamesh' - the first recorded story of human history - accounts on clay tablets a mythical kings quest for immortality. 4000 years later humans are still searching for immortality. With the modernization of haelth care encouraged by biotechnology and computer science, remarkable gains have been made in extending human life spans.A child born today can expect to live more than three times longer than in the time of Gilgamesh. Stemm cells, caloric restriction, cryonics, nanotechnology and transhumanism have become the watchwords of our aera. Perhaps with the accumulation of these accelerating advancements we are indeed on the verge of a complete reversal of the biological aging process - regenerative medicine in our lifetimes.
And if so, if we are able to overcome aging and then live forever, what will this mean for religion?
What will this mean for governments and social systems, wich relay on a noble and time their death?
Perhaps once we have conquered aging, we'll no longer even wish to stay as vulnerable humans.
Perhaps we'll expedite our progression from immortal beings into cyborgs and then to completely post-human entities.
But now there are more pressing questions: What about the environment, oppression by the wealthy over the poor, the problem of overpopulation? What about boredom with a life that stretches out forever and even more harmoneous:
What if the universe would end itself in a 'wimper', a long expanding heat death into the infinite.
If so, what's the point in trying to live forever anyway? Well, it's impossible to answer all of these questions within one documentary. We can provide a glimps, a brief snapshot in time from the voices of the visionaries of the forefront. Join us as we take this amazing journey. "Exploring Life Extension".
Enjoy your life and this sunday!