/lit/ - Literature

There is decent progress being made on this front. There are several avenues, several points of attack when it comes to the ageing process, and there is slow but steady progress being made on all front.
PIWI piRNA pathway:
Its what the genetics department at my uni is researching, and how it can help make high longevity transgenic animals. This is the research i have just joined. Quite promising, as there are active immortal cells in humans with this pathway active, namely the germline progenitor cells. There are also hydra which are immortal, and they also have this pathway active in all their cells.
Cell turnover:
Ageing is esentually accumulation of somatic mutations. These often happen at mitosis, and any cell which proliferates focuses less on DNA repair and more on synthesizing the necesseary proteins. There are different methods being tryed to combat this here, Mutations that decrease the effectiveness of insulin receptors puts cells in maintenace mode insted of proliferation mode. In rats this has doubled, an in nematodes has quadroupled lifespan. Others are working on better gene repair, lower protein turnover, cellular longevity...
Telomers and telomerase:
I actually don't have much to say on this front, other than the fact that recent therapy methods have increased telomer length by 30% so thats good too. Not my area of research though, so i don't no more than the basics.
Apoptosis research:
The role of apoptosis in ageing and development is not fully understood, but it has been shown that mutations can have significant effect on longevity in both positive and negative way. Reserach in this are is also very active, though it has died down a bit lately, as it seems not to be as important as initially thought.
Epigenetics:
A very recent discovery is that cromatin structure changes as we age, and cromatin problems can cause progeria. Histone and DNA methylation also plays a part, but we don't really know how.

Any good books where ageing has been conquered?

Lifespan - David Sinclair
Ending Ageing - Aubrey de Grey

Books for this feel? I've read the Hyperion Cantos, Altered Carbon and the Forever War which are the first that come to mind for me.

>>17857242
>You can only get so far without it. Unless I went into management I only have another two-three promotions left.
I should probably also say, in my case it's because I'm doing a PhD in something I want to research. I don't mind what I do at work and it's still a valuable contribution but it's not a topic that speaks to me on a personal level.
When I first started earning money after getting a cafe job what I did was build up enough savings that I could comfortably walk away and say fuck you to any boss who fucked with me. So far that hasn't happened but it helps having the confidence to say no to your bosses. One of my colleagues (who funnily enough has a PhD and started over a year before me but earns the same as me) hates working here but can't leave because he has a mortgage and nobody else wants to hire him at the moment.

>>17515102
Nice image

>>16711527
>The old that is strong does not wither,

>>16291926
>maybe not in our lifetime
Everything can happen in our lifetime if you choose the right future Anon.

>>15443568
Mostly because there's a chance I might be able to make it to longevity escape velocity and get to witness the Singularity. That and the fact that I don't have a gun yet.

>>15024644
The only reason to live is the possibility that you might get to make it to the Singularity and get to live in a transhumanist utopia. If you don't think you'll make it to longevity escape velocity, or believe in the feasibility of cryonics-type tech and AI alignment, there is no point in staying alive.

>>15000995

>>14815292
Yes.

>>14494100
>implying

>>14480685
If people didn't want to die, people would care a lot more about things like curing aging/life extension. Instead, all people seem to care about is signaling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vLQUqG_l4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UN9tHi83z8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1EDPEt2rL0

>>14248356
>implying transhumanism isn't the final red pill

>>14245834
Surviving past the Singularity and becoming a god.

>>13966581
>And what do you have to say about immortality?
Im not settled on 1 thing yet. I have many things to say both positive and negative.
I believe it can lead to eternal scientific progression depending on our use of genetic engineering and various versions of machine learning or it can more likely lead to an eternal state of decadence.. A spiritual decay and dissatisfaction with life bc wo death what is life?..

>>13898166
Redpill me on why he killed himself. Was he right? The possibility of surviving past the Singularity is unironically the only reason why I haven't blown my brains out yet.

>>13824754
t. virgin deathist