The inner struggle that humans experience while realizing their own mortality appears very early in life, as soon as self-awareness is sufficiently developed. Since then, we have been trying to find ways to prolong life and one day unlock the secrets of eternal life. Humans will no longer have to fear death from biological aging or senescence, as technology will allow them to grow replacement organs in the lab, reverse destructive genetic processes, and replace lost limbs or the entire body. by robotic or bionic versions that could be maintained indefinitely. Until the final step of downloading our consciousness, and thus achieving true immortality.
Immortality is no longer an old science fiction author's dream. In fact, in many areas of research, scientists strive to identify and develop ways to extend human life. From robotics to genetic engineering, synthetic biology and computer science, working towards immortality requires the conjunction of almost all branches of science.
As humans search for ways to extend their lives, they must overcome organ failure — a problem that can arise from accidents, birth defects, or diseases associated with aging. Over the next two decades, advances in biological organ engineering will allow humans in need of an organ transplant to simply order a lab-grown replacement. Indeed, we are already able to grow simple functional organs in the laboratory.
Doris Taylor and her colleagues were able to create a bioartificial rat heart, along with several other major organs, using a process in which cells from a donor are removed from their organ, allowing cells from the patient to replace them. This process is called decellularization, and it is vital for the creation of organs that a patient's body will not reject. By creating organs that won't be rejected, humans don't have to worry about them not working or the complications of the drugs currently used to reduce the risk of rejection.
Ultimately, using this technology, people will be able to make revisions or updates, just like they do for their car. When a part starts to fail, it is simply replaced with a new one. In conjunction with the lab-grown organs used to treat chronic organ failure, scientists are also inventing ways to circumvent death from sudden organ failure.
Recently, Anthony Atala and his team of researchers succeeded in using a modified inkjet printer, which uses human cells instead of ink, to print a three-dimensional organ made from living cell tissue. Atala believes that bioprinting will allow humans to repair damaged or failing organs and tissues. For example, one of the devices being designed uses a high-tech scanner to identify problematic organs or injuries, then fills in the identified area using a bio-printer.
Thanks to bio-printing, humans will be able to repair wounds and failing organs without complicated surgery or an immediate donor. Once the technology becomes commercially available, if used in conjunction with biological organ maintenance, humans will not only be able to overcome death caused by chronic organ failure, but also death caused by chronic organ failure. organ damage, because we will be able to fill the damaged areas with new cells very quickly.
Even though organ maintenance and bio-printing will allow humans to extend their lives considerably, aging processes will continue to cause biological faculties to degenerate, which will require frequent organ maintenance. Scientists, however, have begun to understand aging at the molecular level, allowing them to manipulate genes that would prolong the need for organ replacement. Recently, geneticists have identified a gene that significantly affects human lifespan.
The gene is known as...
