The Fountain of Youth

A wide variety of ambitions and measures to slow stop and reverse phenomena associated with ageing have been part of human culture since early civilization. From alchemy to cell injections to dietary supplements the list of techniques aimed at altering the processes of ageing continues to expand. Charlatans quacks and entrepreneurs proffering anti-ageing products and practices have always exploited uniformed customers and instilled doubt and apprehension toward practices intended to extend life. Recently however the pursuit of longevity has developed into a respectable scientific activity. Many biologists are substantially funded by the government and the private sector to conduct research that they believe will lead to effective anti-ageing interventions.While many embrace this quest for prolongevity - extended youth and long life - others fear its consequences. If effective anti-ageing interventions were achieved they would likely bring about profound alterations in the experiences of individual and collective life. What if ageing could be decelerated to the extent that both average life expectancy and maximum life span would increase by forty percent? What if all humans could live to be centenarians free of the chronic diseases and disabilities now commonly associated with old age? What if modern scientists could find the modern equivalent to the Fountain of Youth that Ponce de León sought?This book addresses these questions by exploring the ramifications of possible anti-ageing interventions on both individual and collective life. Through a series of essays it examines the biomedical goal of prolongevity from cultural scientific religious and ethical perspectives offering a sweeping view into the future of ageing.