It always seemed to people that the time allotted to them for life is too little. This prompted a person to look for methods by which he could extend his life or make it endless - gain immortality.

Immortality in legends

There are references to such methods in historical sources. The ancient Indian epic “Mahabharata” tells about the juice of a mysterious tree that prolongs life up to ten thousand years. In ancient Greek writings, it was stated that there is a kind of “tree of life” that can restore youth to a person.

In the writings of medieval alchemists, studies were described aimed at searching for the “philosopher's stone” (lat. lapis philosophorum), supposedly turning metals into gold, as well as curing all diseases and granting immortality (preparing a golden drink from it, aurum potabile). In Russia, epics glorified “living water”, capable of resurrecting people from the dead.

Of interest is the legend of the Cup, carved from a single crystal of emerald and possessing magical properties. The Holy Grail (according to one theory) radiated a magical light and endowed its protectors with eternal youth and immortality. The word "Grail" has different meanings: from the old French San Graal, San Greal- distorted "royal blood" ( Sang Real), refers to the blood of Jesus Christ; Gradalis- from Graduate(church chant); Gradalis- from Cratalem (Greek. xpcfrfis- a large vessel for mixing wine with water) and other meanings ...

But so far, neither the "tree of life", nor the "philosopher's stone", granting immortality, nor the source of "living water", nor the Holy Grail have been found. However, the search for the elixir of immortality continues now.

Immortality and modern science

Modern science is actively engaged in research into the possibility of eternal life and has already achieved some success in this area. Three areas of this research seem to be the most promising:

• stem cells,
• genetics,
• nanotechnology.

The Science of Immortality (“immortology”, from lat. im- "without", mors, mortis- “death”, the term was introduced by Igor Vladimirovich Vishev, Doctor of Philosophy) also considers the following areas: lowering body temperature, transplantology, cryonics (immortality through freezing - cryopreservation), changing the “carrier of consciousness” (cloning) and others.

Lowering body temperature as one of the ways to achieve immortality is being actively explored in Japan. Experiments on mice show that cooling the body temperature by half a degree increases life expectancy by 12-20%. With a decrease in body temperature by one degree, according to Japanese scientists, the period of human life is extended by 30-40 years.

The path to immortality - stem cells?

Scientists have found that one of the methods of body rejuvenation are stem cells, or, as they are also called, pluripotent cells. The term "stem cells" stem cells) was introduced in 1908 by A.A. Maksimov. In the course of his research, he came to the conclusion that universal undifferentiated cells that can transform into any organs and tissues remain in the human body throughout its life.

Polypotent cells are formed even at the birth of a person, and the whole organism develops from them. Scientists have developed methods for the reproduction of stem cells in the laboratory, learned how to grow various tissues and even organs from them.

Stem cells are able to stimulate cellular regeneration and repair almost any damage in the body, but all this cannot completely overcome aging and has only a temporary rejuvenating effect. The fact is that changes in the human genome play a key role in the aging process.

Human biological clock

Scientists have found that in all cells there are some “biological clocks” that measure their life time. Telomeres are such “biological clocks” - DNA sections of repeating TTAGGG nucleotide sequences located at the ends of chromosomes. With each cell division, telomeres become shorter. And when telomeres are shortened to the maximum size, a mechanism is triggered in the cell, leading it to programmed death - apoptosis.

There is an interesting fact: a special enzyme called telomerase works in cancer cells and is responsible for the superstruction of telomeres. Thus, cancer cells are able to restore the length of telomeres, divide almost an unlimited number of times and not undergo aging processes. If a DNA sequence encoding the enzyme telomerase is introduced into a healthy cell, this cell will acquire the above characteristics, but at the same time it will become cancerous.

Aging gene - P 16

However, as it turned out, cell aging depends not only on the shortening of telomeres. Chinese scientists led by professors from the Medical Academy at Peking University have discovered the P 16 gene responsible for cell aging. In the course of the research, not only the direct connection of the “P 16” gene with aging processes was revealed, but also its ability to influence the length of telomeres.

Chinese scientists have proven that inhibiting the activity of the P 16 gene can not only prolong the life of the cell, but also reduce the degree of telomere shortening. It follows from this that the aging processes are embedded in the genetic program of cells, and in order to make cells immortal, they need to block the “P 16” gene. It is assumed that scientists will be able to block the body's genes with the development of nanotechnology.

It is believed that the aging process is regulated by human heredity by about 25%.

Nanotechnology - the path to immortality

Nanotechnology(English) nanotechnology) are a very promising area of ​​research and can open up incredible opportunities for people. Nanotechnology methods can be used to create nanorobots comparable in size to biomolecules.

Nanotechnologies - the way to immortality. Illustration from bradfuller.com

It is assumed that nanorobots, being inside the human body, will be able to eliminate all damage that occurs in cells. The principle of operation of nanorobots lies in the mechanical impact on cellular structures or the creation of local electromagnetic fields that initiate chemical changes in biomolecules.

Molecular robots will be able not only to stimulate regeneration, but also to repair (repair) cells, remove accumulated harmful metabolic products from the body, correct damage in the genetic material of cells, neutralize free radicals that are harmful to the body, which are products of many biochemical reactions, and also include or block any genes, improving the body.

The scope of nanorobots is limitless. It is expected that they will be able to provide a person physical immortality. But this is a matter for the future. Nanotechnologies require development and further research.

Cryonics and immortality

In the meantime, there is only one way to save your body until the moment when science reaches the ability to correct all the changes in the body associated with disease and aging. it cryonics(English) cryonics) - a developing direction, which consists in preserving the bodies of people doomed to death from an accident, illness or old age until the moment when science will be able to restore all vital body functions, treat all diseases and overcome aging.

At all times, people were sure that too little earthly life was measured out to them. This became the reason for an intensive search for methods that would help prolong life or even make a person immortal. Sometimes these methods were terrible and cruel, and it even came to cannibalism and sacrifice ...

There is quite a lot of evidence in historical documents that such methods were used quite often. So, in particular, in the ancient Indian epic "Mahabharata" we are talking about the juice of some unknown tree, which could extend life by 10 thousand years. The ancient Greek chronicles spoke of the existence of the tree of life, which returned youth to a person.

Medieval alchemists in their works described studies that were aimed at searching for the so-called "philosopher's stone", which was able to turn ordinary metals into real gold, and in addition, cured all diseases and bestowed immortality (from it, allegedly, a golden drink was prepared ). In the epics that existed in Russia, one can often find chanting of "living water", which had the ability to resurrect a person from the dead.

In addition, the legend of the Holy Grail, that is, the Chalice, which was carved from a single emerald and had magical properties, is of great interest. According to one theory, the Grail radiated a magical glow and was able to endow those who protected it with immortality and eternal youth. The phrase Holy Grail itself has several interpretations: it is “royal blood” (that is, the blood of Jesus Christ), and “church hymn”, and “a large vessel in which water and wine were mixed.”

Be that as it may, so far neither the "philosopher's stone", nor the "tree of life", nor the "living water", nor the "Holy Grail" have been found. However, this does not stop enthusiasts, and the search for a miraculous potion that grants immortality continues.

Note that some scientific studies have been quite successful in terms of life extension. So, in particular, the Soviet doctor, Professor Alexander Bogdanov, in 1926, conducted experiments on rejuvenation. He made the assumption that if an elderly person is transfused with the blood of a young person, then youth can return to him. The first test subject was himself, and the first studies he conducted were very successful. He transfused himself with the blood of a geophysics student. 11 completely successful transfusions were carried out, but the next one became fatal - the professor died. An autopsy showed that he had more significant damage to the kidneys, there was a degeneration of the liver and an expansion of the heart. Thus, another attempt to regain youth ended in failure.

So does it really follow from this that immortality and eternal life cannot be achieved?

The answer to this question is ambiguous, because despite the unsuccessful scientific and medical research, in ordinary life there are completely opposite evidence that eternal life is possible. So, for example, there are places on the planet where people live much longer than in other parts of the world. One of these places is a small settlement in Kabardinobalkaria, which is called Eltyubur. Here, almost through one, the inhabitants crossed the centennial milestone. Having a child at the age of 50 is the norm for this area. According to local residents, the reason for their longevity lies in the water from the mountain spring and the air. But scientists are sure that the reason for the longevity of people in this area lies in something completely different - in genetic natural selection, based on the principle of longevity. Each generation passed on to the next genes that were responsible for a long life. According to other researchers, the reason lies in the mountains, which surround the village on all sides. According to this theory, mountains are some kind of pyramids that have the peculiarity of changing the physical properties of objects and substances placed in them, thus contributing to the fact that these objects and substances persist much longer.

But whatever theory turns out to be correct, the very fact of the existence of such places is unique.

In addition to such unique regions, there are people who have managed to achieve a kind of immortality. One of these people was the head of the Buddhists in Russia, Khambo Lama Itigelov, who left the world of his own free will. He took the lotus position and plunged into meditation, and then completely stopped giving any signs of life. His body was buried by his students, but 75 years later his grave was opened. It was the will of the deceased. When the experts saw the body, they were simply shocked, because the body looked like a person died and was buried just a few days ago. Full detailed examinations of the body were carried out, which caused even more shock. The tissues of the body looked like they belonged to a completely living person, and with the help of special devices it was found that his brain was active. Such a phenomenon in Buddhism is called "Damat". In such a state, a person can exist for many years, and it can be achieved by lowering body temperature to zero and slowing down metabolic processes in the body. So, scientists have proven that a decrease in body temperature by only two degrees leads to a slowdown in metabolic processes by more than two times. In this case, the body's resources will be spent less, and life expectancy, therefore, will increase.

Currently, modern science is actively researching the possibility of achieving eternal life. Moreover, certain results have already been achieved in this direction. The most promising among these studies are recognized as three areas: genetics, stem cells and nanotechnology.

In addition, the science of immortality, or immortology (this term was introduced by Doctor of Philosophy Igor Vladimirovich Vishev) also has some areas under consideration, in particular, lowering body temperature, cryonics (freezing as a way to achieve immortality), transplantology, cloning (or so called the change of carrier of consciousness).

It is worth noting that in Japan, one of the main ways to achieve spring life is considered just a decrease in body temperature. There, experiments were carried out on mice, which proved that a decrease in body temperature by only a few degrees ultimately leads to an increase in life by about 15-20 percent. If the body temperature is reduced by one degree, then the life of a person can be increased by 30-40 years.

In addition, according to the studies, scientists came to the conclusion that one of the means of rejuvenation of the human body is also stem or pluripotent cells. The term itself was introduced in 1908 by A. Maksimov, who, after his experiments, came to the conclusion that throughout a person’s life, undifferentiated universal cells remain unchanged in his body, which are capable of transforming into any tissues and organs. Their formation occurs even at conception, and it is they that provide the basis for the development of the entire human body. Scientists have developed methods for the reproduction of pluripotent cells in the laboratory, and in addition, methods have been studied for growing various tissues and even organs from them.

These cells have the ability to stimulate cell regeneration and repair almost all damage in the body. But this does not lead to a complete victory over aging, but can only provide a short-term rejuvenating effect. And the whole problem lies in the fact that the main role in the aging process belongs to the changes that occur in the genome of each person.

Scientists have also found that in every human body there is a so-called biological clock that measures the time of life. Such clocks are sections of DNA, consisting of a repeating sequence of nucleotides that are located at the tops of chromosomes. These regions are called telomeres. Every time a cell divides, they become shorter. When they reach an extremely small size, a mechanism begins to work in the cell, which ultimately leads to apoptosis, that is, programmed death.

Scientists have also found that there is a special substance in the human body that can restore the length of telomeres, but the problem is that this substance is located in the cells of the fetus, and such experiments are prohibited almost all over the world. In addition, this enzyme is also found in a cancerous tumor located in the genitourinary system. Such cells are approved for use in experiments in the United States.

Scientists have also established a very interesting fact: in cancer cells there is telomerase, a special enzyme that is responsible for building up telomeres. That is why cancer cells have the ability to divide an unlimited number of times due to the constant restoration of telomeres, and at the same time not succumb to the aging process. If an imitation of telomorase is introduced into a completely healthy cell, then this cell will also have all the characteristics listed above, but at the same time, it will turn into a cancer cell.

In addition, Chinese scientists have found that cell aging depends on other factors. So, in particular, they discovered the P 16 gene, which is also responsible for the aging process. It is also able to exert some influence on the growth of telomeres.

Chinese scientists have proven that if the development of this gene is blocked, the cells will not age, and telomeres will not decrease. But at the moment, the problem is that scientists do not yet know how to block genes. It is assumed that such an opportunity will appear with the development of nanotechnology.

It should be noted that nanotechnology is a very promising area of ​​scientific research that can provide people with unlimited opportunities. With their help, the creation of nanorobots that would have the same dimensions as biological molecules will become a reality. Scientists suggest that nanorobots, being in the human body, will have the ability to repair cell damage. They will not only stimulate cell regeneration, but also remove the so-called toxins, that is, harmful products formed during the metabolic process, neutralize free radicals that have a detrimental effect on the body, and in addition, block or turn on certain genes. Thus, the human body will improve and eventually gain immortality. However, this is all a matter of the distant future. At present, there is only one way to preserve the body until science reaches the level of correcting the changes in the body that are associated with aging and various diseases. This method is cryonics, that is, freezing to a temperature of -196 degrees (this is the temperature of liquid nitrogen). It is supposed that in this way the body will be protected from decomposition until such time as science becomes perfect.

Thus, we can say that research in the field of achieving immortality is very active, and perhaps soon scientists will find a way to provide people with eternal life.

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People n throughout human history constantly looking for ways, if not to become immortal, then at least significantly extend their lives. Are there methods today that allow you to live long and in the future, maybe forever? Or at least serious developments in this regard? Let's consider some of them from the point of view of the greatest efficiency.

Old people were sold "immortality"

"Elixir of Immortality"

Since ancient times, people have believed that there are certain drugs that rejuvenate the body and affect life expectancy. Those in power were especially interested in the "elixir of immortality". And not only in remote eras. So, Stalin and the North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung regularly received blood transfusions. And the Chinese leader Mao Zedong, for the purpose of rejuvenation, drank breast milk and used mixtures of medicinal herbs, which certainly included ginseng, which was so popular among the Chinese ... He lived the last 82 years. Quite a lot by modern standards, but still far from a record ...

Victory over diseases

To be objective, humanity has already managed to prolong life with the help of medicine. So, 500 years ago, the average life expectancy was approximately 40-50 years. Few people lived up to seventy, and even more so, up to 80 years. And these days it is considered the norm. We owe this to the development of medicine, the emergence of new drugs and methods of treatment. After all, earlier, for example, diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia were considered fatal ... People died from epidemics, because there were no vaccinations against certain diseases ...

Sometimes life-extending agents are discovered quite by accident. So, recently, British doctors found that a well-known medicine for type 2 diabetes has a "long-lasting" effect (it helps control blood glucose levels and increases the body's sensitivity to insulin). Patients taking it had a much lower mortality rate than those taking other diabetes medications. What this is about remains to be explored.

Organ replacement

Life extension can be provided by the replacement of worn parts of the body. After all, it is the failure of an organ that most often causes death. Artificial heart, liver and kidneys have already been developed. The task is to make them work long enough and without interruption... Many are saved by donor organs. True, their number is still not enough to save the lives of all those who suffer ... The way out could be the cultivation of the necessary living tissues "in vitro". And work in this direction is already underway.

virtual consciousness

If we learn how to transfer the contents of the human brain to computer media, thus creating the thinking matrices of specific individuals, then later on a chip with this matrix can be inserted into an artificial body that will last a hundred or two hundred years. After this period, the body can be replaced, and the human "I" will be preserved along with all its memory and individuality. By the way, at the current pace of technology development, this can happen relatively soon - by 2045. True, "artificial" may have problems with reproduction, but surely sooner or later scientists will be able to solve the problem of reproduction, and then artificial systems will begin to fully function as biological ones.

Gene therapy

One of the founders of the SENS Research Foundation, Aubrey de Gray, believes that aging is just a "side effect of life." It can be combated by interfering with the mechanism of living cells at the genetic level. After all, conventional medicine treats mainly the symptoms of the disease. And, say, behavioral changes in Alzheimer's disease appear much later, as the brain is already irreversibly damaged by amyloid plaques. So far, gene therapies are mostly at the research stage, but in the next 30 years, the likelihood that, thanks to them, a person will be able to extend his life, will increase significantly. At least that's what reputable futurologists think.

Disabling aging mechanisms

At the 12th International Conference of Cognitive Neurosciences in Brisbane (Australia), a group of neuroscientists spoke about their discovery. It turns out that the area of ​​the brain responsible for spatial attention does not show signs of aging with age, while most other brain functions deteriorate. It is possible that over time it will be possible to uncover the mechanism of brain aging and learn how to "turn off" the programs of age-related destruction. This will avoid such unpleasant consequences of aging as sclerosis or insanity.

Researchers predict that over the next century, human life expectancy will increase to 120-150 years. I would like to believe...

Humans are just dirty sacks of blood and bones that are completely unsuitable for immortality. Everyone is aware of this: both ordinary stokers and billionaires. In 2016, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged $3 billion towards a plan to cure all diseases by the end of the century. “By the end of this century, it will be quite normal for people to live to 100 years old,” the naive Zuckerberg believes.

Of course, science has made a huge step forward, life expectancy has greatly increased. Although they consider it wrong, forgetting that in the old days infant mortality was very high, and therefore the numbers are so negligible. But the money invested in scientific research is not like that at all. Longevity and potentiality is a particularly popular obsession with the rich and famous, who seem to be very embarrassed by the fact that someday this happiness will have to be parted.

Often the shapes are not important - let them be a pulsing can of canned food or monkey gonads.

And the whole problem is that human bodies, those sad, falling, failing products of evolution, are simply not made to live forever. People throughout history have tried, but the garbage body has always gotten in the way.

Interested in the immortality of the oligarchs, politicians and scientists throughout history does not leave the dream to live to the end of time. The following is a summary of the various approaches that have been taken in the never-ending quest for eternal life.

Hack all diseases

Zuckerberg, along with his Silicon Valley friends Google and 23andme, established the Breakthrough Award in 2012 to promote scientific innovation, including those aimed at extending life expectancy and fighting disease.

He created a foundation that will donate $3 billion over the course of a decade to basic medical research. Some argue that this approach is not the most efficient. The money will be spent on studying one particular disease, rather than trying to pacify several at once. That is, it will take ten years to completely eradicate, say, smallpox, while people will seek salvation from cancer.

There is another problem - time. The patient ages, his condition only worsens, and the disease remains uncured. And aging itself is the biggest risk factor for all these diseases that are getting out of control. The older you are, the more exposed the risks are, because organs and systems inevitably wear out and break.

It is important to remember that we are not only talking about a few billionaires who can afford the best, but about millions of people depending on the circumstances. Therefore, some centers are investigating ways to stop aging at the enzyme level. One of the most promising is TOP, a kind of cellular signaling that tells a cell that it needs to either grow and divide, or be destroyed. Scientists believe that manipulating this pathway can slow down the most natural process.

Biohacking also plans to take its place under the sun, despite the debate over the ethical dimension of the issue: how far people can go to change their genetic code. Scientists, for example, are still scrutinizing CRISPR technology, which acts like a homing missile: it tracks a specific strand of DNA and then cuts and inserts a new strand in its old place. It can be used to change almost every aspect of DNA. In August, scientists first used gene-editing technology on a human embryo to erase an inherited heart defect.

Fresh blood, foreign gland

Throughout human history, we have toyed with the idea of ​​filling the body with replaceable parts to cheat death. Take the same Sergei Voronov, a Russian scientist who at the beginning of the 20th century believed that the gonads of animals contain the secret of life extension. In 1920, he tried it by taking a piece of a monkey gland and sewing it onto a human one (we will warn you right away: not his, he did not like science that much).

There was no shortage of patients: about 300 people underwent the procedure, including one woman. The professor claimed that he returned youth to 70-year-olds and extended their life to at least 140 years. In his book Life. Learning how to restore vitality and prolong life,” he wrote: “The sex gland stimulates brain activity, muscle energy and love passions. It infuses the blood stream with a vital fluid that restores the energy of all cells and spreads happiness.”

Voronov died in 1951, apparently unable to rejuvenate himself.

Monkey testicles have gone out of fashion, but unlike Dr. Voronoff, the idea of ​​collecting body parts is still very much alive.

For example, there is a lot of talk about parabiosis, the process of transfusing blood from a young person to an elderly person to stop aging. Elderly mice thus managed to rejuvenate. Moreover, in the 50s, people conducted similar studies, but for some reason abandoned them. Apparently, the ancestors learned some terrible secret. For example, that this method can be pushed from under the floor to very rich people. They love the blood of virgins and babies. As the story goes, everyone from Emperor Caligula to Kevin Spacey loves young bodies.

Although, to be honest, the experiments with transfusion were carried out on a person, but they did not end very well. It didn't always work. For example, science fiction writer, doctor and pioneer of cybernetics, Alexander Bogdanov, in the 1920s, decided to add fresh blood to himself. He naively believed that this would make him literally invulnerable. Alas, insufficient analysis, and the luminaries are already digging a grave. It turned out that he transfused himself with the blood of a patient with malaria. Moreover, the donor survived, but the professor soon died.

Rethinking the Soul

Humanity has been dreaming of immortality for so long that it has created four ways to achieve it:

1. Life-prolonging drugs and gene treatments discussed above.

2. Resurrection is an idea that has fascinated people throughout history. It began with the experiments of Luigi Galvani in the 18th century, conducting electricity through the legs of a dead frog. It ended with cryonics - the process of freezing the body with the hope that future medicine or technology will be able to defrost Magnit pizza more accurately than a microwave oven and restore health. Some comrades in Silicon Valley are interested in new versions of cryonics, but so far have not paid as much attention to it.

3. The search for immortality through the soul, which did not lead to anything good. Only for wars. The body is a mortal, rotting shell. Only the soul is eternal, which will gain immortality in the best of all worlds. Or like Casper, at worst. But let's put aside religious conversations. The soul, of course, is not a toy, but we are trying to write about science.

However, scientists have their own understanding of the soul. For them, it is not so much a ghostly essence of us connected to a higher power, but a more specific set of brain signatures, a code unique to us that can be cracked like any other.

Consider the modern soul as a unique neurosynaptic connection that integrates the brain and body through a complex electrochemical flow of neurotransmitters. Every person has one and they are all different. Can they be reduced to information, for example, to be replicated or added to other substrates? That is, can we get enough information about this brain-body map to reproduce it on other devices, be it machines or cloned biological copies of your body?

– Marbelo Glaser, theoretical physicist, writer and professor of natural philosophy, physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College –

In 2013, an independent biotechnology research company Calico began a project under the veil of secrecy to explore the depths of the brain and search for the soul. Everything was very pathetic: thousands of experimental mice, the best technologies, press coverage - the world froze on the threshold of discovery. And then everything somehow ended by itself. They were looking for "biomarkers," that is, biochemicals whose levels predict death. But all they could do was make money and invest it in drugs that could help fight diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Building a lasting legacy

By the way, we said that there are four ways, but we wrote only three. So, let's take the fourth one separately. This is a legacy. For ancient civilizations, this meant the creation of monuments so that living relatives would repeat the name carved on the walls of the tomb for a very, very long time. A person is immortal as long as his name is written in books and pronounced by descendants.

Today's heritage is different from the giant stone shrines, but the egos of ancient and modern owners are quite comparable. The idea of ​​uploading consciousness to the cloud has gone from science fiction to science: Russian web mogul Dmitry Itskov launched the 2045 Initiative in 2011, an experiment, or even an attempt, to make himself immortal for the next 30 years by creating a robot that can store a human personality. .

Various scholars call this uploading or transferring the mind. I prefer to call it personality transfer.

– Dmitry Itskov –

immortal planet

The worst thing about all these experiments, which makes them absolutely meaningless for most, is the high cost. For the average white resident of a developed country with a good annual income, this will be unaffordable money.

This, in turn, may mean that we will have a class of almost immortal or cloudy consciousnesses that control people, immured in a cage of terrifying analog bodies. But crossing a person with a computer will give rise to new superhumans, thinkers, half people - half lines of code.

Kennedy said the discovery of these options depends on which research path is most effective. If aging is seen as a disease, then there is hope for the long-awaited pill of immortality. As someone very smart said:

The challenge is to figure out how to improve health and do it as quickly as possible. If with the help of drugs, it is achievable. If with the help of numerous transfusions of young blood, this is less achievable.

Whether this will spawn a superrace of "destroyers" impervious to torment, time and the limits of the flesh is unclear. So far, all the fighters against mortality are afraid of the prospect of soon being in a wooden box and a two-meter pit. But let them think better about the consequences, maybe mortality is better for all of us?