We are not programmed to die

I was watching Envoyé Spécial on French telly the other night which carried an interesting documentary on how to cheat death.

In the vanguard of the Transhumanist movement is Aubrey De Grey who likes to say things like "immortality is possible" and "you can cure yourself from death".

Whilst postponing death indefinitely seems more science fiction than proven science today, it is absolutely true that we are on the verge of a historic turning point in human affairs. For the first time ever, a species is able to direct its own evolution. Human nature is about to change and we will soon be enhancing human beings in much the same way as we upgrade the technology we use.

Scientists have now developed and extraordinary toolkit for understanding and manipulating genes and it will only be a matter of time before this technology is used to destroy dreadful diseases like Huntingtons. Not far behind will the the temptation to make improvements to our unborn children and to our own longevity.

Already in the US, people are buying printouts of their own genetic code - and altering their lives accordingly. One 37 year old woman, who's mother had died of breast cancer, decided, on the basis of her genetic printout to sacrifice her own breasts. With a probability of getting breast cancer herself assessed as 85% certain, she decided not to take the risk.

With a digital map of our own biology in our hand, who's to say what health and lifestyle choices we will make? But one thing is for certain, the time when we decide to live to be 120 or 150 is getting closer.