"It is theorized by some that when it is discovered exactly what allows some cells to be biologically immortal that it will be possible to genetically alter other cells to have the same capability (most believe telomere length is involved). It is further theorized that it will eventually be possible to genetically engineer all cells in the human body to have this capability by employing gene therapy and thereby stop or reverse ageing, effectively making the entire organism biologically immortal."
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1ox06c3cxhyvf?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Biological+immortality&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc01a&linktext=Biological%20immortality

Would you desire your lifespan to be 120 years, 150 1000 etc..? At what point would you call it quits?

I am not sure. Depending upon whether or not my physical and mental acuity remain (or becomes ) sharp, my decision resides. Is the Earth habitable..is the future certain and stable..?

Sincerely,

If I could have my health back, I'd like to live
at least a thousand years; that way I might have
enough time to pursue all my interests to the
depths that I would like. In my current state of
health, twenty more years is a long sentence.

Amaranth, one thing I have learned, with or without the assistance of science, is empathy. I truly wish that I could eradicate your suffering. Know that you are valuable, know that people love you, know that you did nothing to deserve your plight. Know that there is hope. Know that you are special. Know that you have made pleasurable the lives of those you have interacted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3209515.stm

"Manipulation of the worms' insulin signalling combined with removal of their reproductive systems, produced life spans of six times longer than normal."

Er um.. do not touch the goodies, so to say
Sincerely,

Mung, thank you for your kind words. I have
learned the hard way that every person has value
simply because they exist. I do the best I can
and know that it is my current best, if not what
I was once able to do but still my best effort. If
Science and scientists ever have extra money,CFIDS
(or FM or ME, whatever you choose to call it) is
always there to do research on and maybe someday
find a cure. I do hold onto that vaguest of human
emotions, Hope. Sometimes I grasp it lightly and
sometimes with a death-grip around its throat, but
I hang on.

"...effectively making the entire organism biologically immortal."
This would never work, one day, your brain would be too full of memories and you'd either start replacing old information with new information, or stop remembering things all together. You would have to get brain upgrades or link brains up or something.

I could go for a brain upgrade, all things considered.

I think it's much more likely I'd start forgetting
stuff to make room for more, and just keep the
highlights, so to speak. There's far more to
memory than just input and output.

Rose:

http://menopausethemusical.com

If you can't get to it in a city near you ... buy the sound track.

If you don't laugh louder than you have in several decades I'll buy it back from you.

All you children out there have no idea what this is about ... and this is just fine.

Sounds like a riot! I'll put it on my "to get" list.

Now back to our regularly scheduled Science programming.