Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime

by Aubrey de Grey and Michael Rae

Book Overview

With a New Afterword Must We Age? Nearly all scientists who study the biology of aging agree that we will someday be able to substantially slow down the aging process, extending our productive,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312367066
• ISBN13: 9780312367060
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 389 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Just Undo the Damage!

This book might be a steep read for most lay-people who aren't all that interested in cell biology or molecular chemistry, even as a passing fancy. But, the flipside of the author's depth of detail is that it allows you a glimpse into the kinds of complexities and even paradoxes that occur in the human metabolism (and how different those reactions can be even from those taking place in mice and monkeys). DeGrey's major beef, in a nutshell, with the R & D community is that they are spending waaay too much time and energy trying to "understand" the complexities of why aging, cell damage, dysfunction, and diseases arise over time as bi-products of simply living life. He argues that we need a more targeted engineering approach -- simply FIND the damage after it has occurred, define what that damage is, and then GO FIX IT. These are much simpler problems to solve. As an analogy, look at what we do to preserve any machine or system. You can see a 100-year old house has holes in the roof; go patch them. While you're at it some new caulking around the windows, maybe some more insulation in the attic, some anti-termite spray, and there you go, good for another 100 years. DeGrey envisions periodic therapies, say once per decade or so (similar to immunization schedules, for example) where individuals would receive viral injections and/or gene therapy to kill cancer cells, untangle proteins that cause alzheimers and the like, and remove calcification and stiffening from arteries and veins, generally restoring the body to a state of youthful vitality. It is not nearly as "crazy as it sounds", but the fact remains that the large amounts of govt. and even private funding of such activities are not directed at "aging" per se, but rather at specific foundations devoted to one disease or another -- in other words, massive investment into cryptic treatments directed at helping a very very small percentage of the population. A paradigm shift is needed. To his credit, and despite wild claims if 1,000-year "potential lifespans" and the like, DeGrey and Rae do not balk at frank discussions of the complexity that some of these treatments entail, or the failures that have plagued researchers along the way. The point is that progress IS being made now, and much more will come in the future, but at a pace that will be determined by focus, funding, and technological progress. This book ties in well with books on nanotechnology and futurism. As others have said, we are about to enter a golden age of engineering *applications* that were undreamed of a century ago. We discovered quantum physics 100 years ago, but people are now building quantum computers. We first described the human DNA double-helix in 1953, have already sequenced many entire human genomes, and are well on the way to engineering with genetics, even building machines made from DNA. We can now touch each individual molecule and cell in the body, so why can't we repair enough of them to keep the bo

the best book on the topic

This book is the best technical book I have ever seen written for a mix of technical and non-technical audiences. It covers its subject matter AND the why we should care with tremendous passion, expertly responds to all plausible criticisms and to some implausible ones, and never begs a question. The best book on this topic, or really on any transhumanist topic, ever written!

A wake-up call

The basic strategy is to bootstrap: figure out how to repair the age-related damage that we know about today, and use the extra lifetime this gives us to learn how to repair the damage that will develop as we live longer and longer lives. So if you reach the age of 200, say, the damage that has to be repaired is the damage that occurs to get to 100, plus whatever becomes an additional problem between 100 and 200, and so on. I think the basic strategy is quite sound, given the exponential progress in technology and especially bio-tech that we are seeing today. It is pretty common to hear researchers say that they can do more in a year today than they could do in 10 years previously, because the tools and our knowledge are both so much better. So once we can get to a point where we can extend current lives by 20+ years, there is a good chance that no one will die of old age ever again (except by choice). When I talk about this, one of the immediate concerns I hear is for the planet and running out of resources. Personally, I am convinced that when this problem arrives we will solve it, and that there are a variety of ways that this could be done (much lower birth rates, higher density on this planet, moving into space and/or to other planets), so I am much more concerned with curing aging. I don't want to see any more of my friends or family die, and I would like to enjoy life as long as I want. So I am all in favor of this program! The book is divided into three sections. One that talks about the problem of aging and treating it as an engineering problem to be solved; one that talks about the known issues that have to be solved and possible solutions; and one that talks about what each of us can do to contribute to solving the problem. The central section of the book is excellent, a superb treatise on why we age and the damage that causes age-related problems. It was also extremely encouraging to see the progress we've made in understanding these processes, and the progress we've made in finding ways to repair them. I hope this book will help more people realize what is possible, and that we need to push on this to get it to happen sooner rather than later. Highly recommended.

Cure for aging in our lifetimes?

Aubrey de Grey is the lead voice in proposing real world solutions for treating aging as a disease. In this book, he not only shows that aging may be reversible, but lists all the biochemical causes of aging and explains the promising research that is being done right now to solve each of the component problems. Such research can be of direct benefit to ourselves and our children - not just the people of some far distant future. Responding to his call for a "War on Aging" can stop the pain, suffering, and death of billions of people - perhaps even your own.

A champion for the cause- a brilliant read and wake up call!

Aubrey De Grey will soon need no introduction. This book is a heroic call to action; a brave, brilliant and lucidly written book that everyone should read. This man is challenging us to question our assumptions about what is possible and in doing so, inspiring us to get up and make a difference. The End of aging as we know it will happen a lot faster if people let go of their fearful reservations and doubt, read this book and spread the word. "Do not go quietly into that night, rage, rage against the dying of the light" -Dylan Thomas. If you read one book this year, have it be Ending Aging. -JS