Friday, June 11, 2010

5 Ways To Become Immortal

Want to become Immortal? You're in luck because scientists say in about 20 years we will have the technology to not only prolong life far beyond what it is today, but, possibly, allow human beings to live forever!

How can this be done? Here are 5 of the methods we may use in the future to become immortal:

1. Nanotechnologies that can replace our vital organs:  There are already ways scientists can create artificial pancreases so this isn't as crazy as it sounds. It won't be long before this technology is perfected. This means that we will get to replace any organ in our body with a new one. So if your heart is failing, you can go to the doctor and order a new one! It's like replaces old parts with new ones. We will get to do this over and over again until technology is advanced enough so that our actual organs can last forever.

Immortality2. Neural implants: These little chip-like things that can attach directly onto someone's brain. They can help stimulate the brain for people who have had strokes or head injuries. They can also ease the effects of Parkinson's disease and depression. In addition, they can be used as a pathway from brain to computer. In the future you will be able to control machines with your mind. Perhaps you could even control other people! This technology will most likely ensure that our brains will never degenerate and our memory will never delete or get destroyed. Any brain damage will be automatically repaired(or transferred into a machine). (See: Transferring Human Consciousness)

3. Nanobots that replace blood cells: These will be used as a supplement for our natural blood cells and they will be thousands of times more effective. For example, oxygen will be supplied much more effectively and you will most likely be able to run at a full sprint for 15 minutes and stay under water for hours without a breath. Also, they will allow healing and repair to be nearly instant and will ensure that the cells in our body never decay, allowing us to never age or maybe we could even grow younger instead of older! Sounds pretty cool huh?

4. Cyborg technology: This is pretty self explanatory. In the future instead of replacing body parts with biological copies, we may be able to replace them with mechanical copies. We will then become super human biological cyborgs. We will live forever and be nearly invincible. (See: Dog's Head Kept Alive Without a Body)

5. Cryonics: Cryonics is a technology that uses vitrification instead of freezing for the preservation of humans and animals. The idea is you can have yourself preserved until medical technology is available to heal you. So even if you die, you can be restored at a later date. Currently, around 200 people have had this procedure since 1962. In the United States, only people who are pronounced clinically dead can have cryonics performed. The only problem, the technology does not yet exist to bring these people back to life, without killing them.

I recently watched the movie Zardoz and found it was an interesting take on the effects of immortality. In the movie, the humans were begging to die! Would life really get that boring?

Fountain of Youth

Are you sure you don't want to die? Even if you could live forever, are you really sure you would want to?

Don't forget to signup for Time Human's free weekly e-zine!