by Michael Webster Investigative Reporter and
Scientific Researcher
Medicine and
science have come a long, long way in the last hundred years. When we
think of the possibilities people had during the 1900’s when we suffered heart
failure, kidney failure, liver disease, polio, tuberculosis, smallpox, almost
any kind of illness, there is no arguing with the undeniable truth that
advances in medicine due to science have lengthened many lives that otherwise
we now in the 21st century feel they had ended prematurely.
I would like to predict
the limitless future of science and technology and how it is, affecting us now
and for the years beyond. In fact, many predictions of the future are often
nothing more than the narrow viewpoint of the predictor. Predictions are very
hard to make with any real accuracy in regards to not only the future, but, how
the future will affect us and our way of life and life itself. Since the
beginning we as human beings knew very well about pain and suffering that was
associated with horrible diseases and many of those diseases are still with us
even after the profound transformation of the unleashing of the industrial
revolution and still today in the 21st century we fear and suffer
from many of the same modalities cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s and other incurable known and unknown diseases. Not so very long
ago people on earth lived to be only about thirty and even now our life
expectancy is a mere 75 for males and 78 for females.
Many of us humans living
today have a deep seated natural desire to live. Even though some claim
otherwise. I think they are just in denial or don’t know the facts. For the
first time in mankind’s history we have real reasons to be optimistic about
long lives and even perpetual life. Most of us also possess a keen sense of
time and have a perception of eternity. Under favorably health and normal
circumstances we want to keep living indefinitely. It appears we want
life with no expiration date. For the first time humans not only desire to live
indefinitely but also have the great potential to remain healthy, busy and
productive forever.
According to the
Watchtower from earliest times, mankind has dreamed of living forever. Yet,
that dream remains unfulfilled—no one has found a way to conquer death, yet.
Recently, however through, medical research it has renewed the hope that a
dramatic extension of the human life span might really be possible. Consider
what is being pursued in various fields of scientific study.
Interestingly there seems
to be no limit to a person’s capacity to learn. Science now believes that
nothing in nature compares with the human brain when it comes to complexity and
resilience. Most Scientist thinks we have barely scratched the surface when it
comes to really understanding the potential of the human brain. Amazingly
enough much of this potential remains as we grow older. The question then is
why?
Neuroscientists have
recently learned that most brain functions remain unharmed by the aging process
and the horror stories we hear about Dementia Alzheimer’s and other feebleness
of the brain is over blown.
Researchers working for
The Frankly Institute’s Center for Innovation in Science Learning indicate
current research is very positive about the longevity of our brains according
to the researchers there: “The human brain is able to continually adapt and
rewire itself. Even in old age, it can grow new neurons. Severe mental decline
is usually caused by disease, whereas most age-related losses in memory or
motor skills simply result from inactivity and a lack of mental exercise and
brain stimulation.” So if we can keep the brain intellectually stimulated and
free from disease, it could keep working indefinitely. “The brain, declares
molecular biologist James Watson, co-discoverer of the physical structure of
DNA, is the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe. “
Neuroscientist Gerald Edelman says “ that a section of the brain the size of a
match head contains about a billion connections that can combine in ways which
can only be described as hyperastronomical –on the order of ten followed by
millions of zeros.”
Then we must ask does it
seem logical that although endowed with such potential, humans should live just
a few decades?
By the end of the 20th
century a period of intense scientific discoveries like unlocking the secrets
of the atom and how to spit it creating the atom bomb, unraveling the molecules
of life and building the computer. And remarkable advancements in medicine
helped cure deadly and crippling diseases. The dynamic era of science marches
on and as such we are on the brink of still another great revolution the
hydrogen revolution, which will be, our next main source of energy. Everything
from cars, trucks, buses, ships, airplanes, power generating plants and all
industrial energy will come from efficient water and steam producing hydrogen.
Dirty fossil fuels will be a thing of the past.
This revolution will
change the entire economic structure of the world, as we now know it. As human
knowledge doubles every ten years, computer power is doubling every eighteen
months and the Internet is doubling every year. Perhaps the most important to
human health and longevity is the doubling of DNA analyzing, and sequencing
every two years. We have now mapped the human genome consisting of about
100,000 human genes that are hidden among 23 pairs of chromosomes in our cells.
This was all accomplished years before researchers predicted they would and it
was no doubt one of the most ambitious projects in medical history.
Francis Collins who
headed up that project for the U.S. National Center for Human Genome Research
said, “There is only one Human Genome Project. It will only happen once in
human history, and this is that point in time. Without sounding corny, I do
believe this is the most important scientific project mankind has ever mounted
this investigation into ourselves." The techniques of molecular biology
will allow us to read the genetic code of life as we would read a book.
Already, the complete DNA code of several living organisms, such as viruses,
single-cell bacteria, and yeast, has been completely decoded,
molecule-by-molecule. Embryonic and adult stem cells will heal most of man
kind’s illnesses. Already new advancements in DNA research are making possible
a new type of computer, molecular computers, which perform calculations on the
atoms themselves, which computes with organic molecules, as a tiny living chip,
much smaller than anything today with much more information capability. In fact
the size of microchips will be on the scale of a molecule and will end the
so-called Age of Silicon. Remarkably, DNA computers have already been built
which can solve problems in mathematics faster than supercomputers. Even some
visionaries predict an optical computer which will compute on dancing beams of
laser light. Already we have computers capable of 3 trillion calculations per
second (3 teraflops per second, with 2.5 trillion bytes of memory).
Science is on the verge of computers which will calculate even more.
Robots soon will develop
common sense and be able to converse with humans and will recognize and
manipulate things in their environment as we do. Only they'll be able to always
learn from their mistakes. This will give them the ability to make independent
decisions and perform other complicated duties such as shopping, housekeeping,
cooking, providing secretarial services, companionship and assist humans
in many other untold and unknown ways.
Many other advancements
are expected in biotechnology, telecommunications and space travel. Without
exception, every one of the technologies singled out to lead the twenty-first
century are deeply rooted in the quantum, computer, and DNA revolutions.
Quantum theory
revolution discovered in 1925 in the twentieth-century by Werner Heisenbery,
Erwin Schrodinger and others were able to reduce matter to some few postulates.
So with this new knowledge they were able to mathematically predict properties
of substances before they were created. These calculations are now the standard
that predicts the properties of everything from microscopic subatomic quarks to
the colossal supernovas in the known universe. That then makes it possible for
the other two great scientific revolutions, the computer and the biomolecular
revolutions.
Although the laws of
computers are well known, only some of the basic laws of artificial
intelligence and the human brain are known. At present, computers are our main
and in some cases is our only way to determine if the buildup of carbon dioxide
will starve us of oxygen in the atmosphere and will cause us to be bomb barded
by the suns radiation. That will endanger and change human life as we know it.
At this point in time our computers are telling us that our weather is being
disrupted by the greenhouse effect, causing among other things global warming.
If that result is as many experts now believe the health of humans and economy
of the entire planet will be adversely affected.
The quantum theory, too,
will have a powerful influence in the 21st century in the area of badly needed
energy production. And will create machines the size of molecules, these
machines will become known as nanotechnology and micromachines. Nanotechnology
promises the very smallest of molecular machines because of the enormous
advances in manipulating those atomic-size micromachines. They will be able to
scavenge molecules from within our system by patrolling in our bloodstream and
removing plaque from our arteries, and will be able to destroy infectious
microbes of all kinds. They will be able to kill tumor cells, repair damaged
cells and reverse the aging process altogether. They will be able to resolve
engineering problems by cleaning up the environment by devouring hazardous
wastes, eliminating world hunger by growing wondrously inexpensive but
plentiful nutritious well balanced foods. Nanotechnology will enable us to
build supercomputers the size of atoms, and build other types of machines, from
booster rockets to microchips. These tiny machines will be able to multiply
into trillions of molecular robots which will converge on site and destroy
viruses and bacteria at will and will be able to solve other biological
problems and reshape life as we know it. With the advent of new ways to power
rockets through ionic engines we will see the beginnings of rockets that
will reach nearby stars, and we will start developing colonies in deep space,
and interplanetary travel will become commonplace.
All of this will have
profound effects on biology and medicine. Most if not all genetic diseases like
cancer will be eliminated. Chemotherapy, invasive surgery, and painful testing
will all be things of the past. In fact life itself may well become perpetual
by conquering death altogether.
What is helping to drive
this quantum leap in biomolecular research is our remarkable ability to decode
the secrets of life, using computers and robots to automate the sequencing of
DNA. That means someday all organisms will have their complete DNA code
unraveled. By then we will be reading the Encyclopedia of all life. It well
soon be possible for anyone on earth to have their personal DNA code stored on
a CD. Imagine going to your doctor for a routine checkup, he draws some blood
without punching the skin, then places it into a computer, which instantly
gives a personalized DNA read out including any of the then known genetic
diseases. They well even be able to predict the mathematical chances of your
getting a disease. Then preventive measures will be taken years before any
symptoms appear. Gene and cloning therapy will then cure what ever ails you.
Medicine is basically going to change from a treatment-based to a
prevention-based discipline.
This shift to polygenic
diseases will be the key for overcoming chronic diseases such as heart disease,
strokes, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's, aids and other autoimmune diseases,
as well as mental diseases like schizophrenia.
But the bottom line is
we know that Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute at Edinburgh, Scotland has
already cloned Dolly the sheep. Monkeys, mice, pigs, cats and many other
animals have also been cloned. That animal cloning will lead to human cloning,
if it hasn't already and that alone will give control over the aging process
and will extend our life time into the future where human cloning and cloning
therapy will be run of the mill. Some believe that human cloning has already
taken place some where in the world. And that only high net worth individuals
and highly placed government officials are privy to this secret science.
Cloning raises serious
moral and ethical questions which we will leave to the clergy, politicians and
humanity in general.
The Watch Tower reports
that Therapeutic cloning, a controversial field of research, could
theoretically provide patients with new and perfectly compatible livers,
kidneys, hearts and most other organs for transplantation. Such organs would be
cultivated using the patient’s own stem cells.
Researchers in
nanotechnology foresee a time when doctors will introduce cell-size robots into
the bloodstream to find and destroy cancer cells and harmful bacteria. Some
believe that this field of science, along with gene therapies, will eventually
allow the human body to sustain itself indefinitely.
We will someday soon be
able to grow entire organs in the laboratory such as hearts, livers, lungs, and
kidneys for cloning therapies as replacement parts for our diseased or warn out
vital organs. And through molecular DNA restructuring we will be able to grow
new organs within our own bodies. But until than we must do all we can to stay
healthy and try to stick around so we ourselves may one day be able to take
full advantage of these wonderful new advancements in our lifetime. Of course
if we fell, and if the world is allowed to go on long enough science someday in
the distant future may be able to bring us all back from the dead.
So what is the latest
scientific developments happening today that can save and/or extend human life?
Since 2005 there has been
another major advancement available to people who are suffering from end-stage
heart disease and failure from all other human organs. The major
difference between this breakthrough and current medically-accepted treatments
and surgical procedures is that this modality does not require pharmaceuticals,
major surgery, immune-suppressants or organ transplantation. This leap
forward uses the wisdom and healing power of the human body itself. And
even better than that, it uses the healing power of your body. Not a
cell, not an organ, not a blood product comes from another person’s body, and
thus there is no problem of rejection and attack by your immune system to a
foreign invader. What is this amazing natural process, where does it come
from and why haven’t you heard of it? Well, maybe you have heard of it,
but in another context: it is stem cells.
You may or may not know
that there are two types of stem cells: embryonic (that comes from human
embryos) and adult (which reside in the bone marrow of every man, woman and
child) which play a major factor in healing of illness and injury. This
true story we are telling is about adult stem cells, the ones every
human being carries around in their bone marrow. These cells might be
thought of as the body’s National Guard, each one just waiting for the order to
rush in where disaster has struck to rebuild and restore order. Each cell
goes out what might be called “anonymously” and is open to become whatever it
needs to become. The ultimate in adaptability, the adult stem cell
responds to a signal put out by the affected area, charges to the site and
morphs into a heart cell, or a kidney cell or a liver cell, or even a brain
cell or whatever is needed. If you think about it, this is not only
the wisdom of the body it is a marvel, certainly a miracle (from the Latin mirari
“to wonder at”).
There’s only one
problem: where there is a catastrophic event (such as heart attack,
congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease (PAD), or any major damage
or breakdown in the systems of the body, there are not enough stem cells to
provide the restorative actions needed to recreate health, especially as the
body ages. Without a way to restore the cellular structure of the
damaged organ, deterioration and eventual death must ensue.
However with adult stem
cells (ASCs), harvested from the bone marrow, thigh, and blood and from other
parts of the human body are less invasive. The least invasive is using the
patient’s own blood (much like a blood transfusion) to regenerate a diseased
heart (which is only the beginning of the possible applications).
Dom Margoles a pioneer in this new
industry says “Today in America and around the world many patients have been told that there is little the current
medical profession can do to help them. There is real hope for people who
refuse to accept that they must live their remaining days condemned
to being incapacitated and restricted in their activities and pleasures
because they cannot avail themselves of the latest medical technologies
in their own country. www.TheraVitae.com
Hundreds of people’s
lives (many of which are Americans) suffering from end-stage heart failure,
congestive heart failure and its related diseases (like Peripheral Artery
Disease – “PAD”) have now been saved with this new treatments. If
they rely on undergoing old conventional medical treatment that is currently
available, they will undoubtedly go behind the veil of mystery that is
death.”
According to Margoles
“Today right now the truth is that end-stage, no-option heart patients DON’T
have to die. But you would never know that from reading the American
medical press now controlled by embryonic profiteers.”
According to these same
cutting edge experts “75 of out of the first 100 American and Australian
patients, in 2005 said “No, not ME doctor; tell the next guy to go to a
hospice!” and came to Thailand and got lucky”. Yes, three out of four got
better, while the less fortunate one-fourth suffer no-gain, no-harm, and no
foul. Almost half of those 75 have given up their right to medical privacy so
that they can help you as they were helped before you!”
The choice for end-stage
heart patients is not easy, but it is clear. Ask yourself if you are getting
any better? Or, are you not getting any better? When your
cardiologist says there is nothing more he can do for you, your choices become
very limited.
Cutting edge hospitals in Asia alone
have treated over 500 patients since 2005. About 300 Americans are at least
four months past their treatment, and 200 of them have reported significant
improvements in their heart symptoms, especially higher energy levels and
better breathing both at night and after exertion. Some of these have
become the "Patient Volunteers" who are eager and willing to share
their stories with anybody who is interested enough to ask. If you’re a
heart patient, these volunteers were once like you. They weren't getting any
better with standard treatments and were "wondering if this treatment in
Bangkok, Mexico and elsewhere is for real."
Recent discoveries from
all over the world, but few in the USA, are unleashing the power of adult stem
cells (ASC) in novel ways that already provide the scientific community a
platform on which it can, over time, develop cures for Parkinson’s, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s, heart failure and a host of other debilitating disease.
Adult stem cells (ASC)
harvested from the patient’s bone marrow or blood, have been saving and
improving lives for over five years with no safety issues.
This new cutting edge
current treatment uses only a half-pint of the patients’ blood. They then
harvest the stem cells and multiply them into therapeutic numbers before
injecting them into the heart. It has provided a safe and effective therapy NOW
for tens of thousands of soon-to-be-dead, no-hope heart patients.
The best available
estimates of Embryonic stem cell treatment is several years away at best
while Adult stem cell treatment is available now in many other countries and
may be available in the United States with in the next couple of years. The
U.S. Already has clientical trails moving forward and is having amassing
results.
Biologists are also
experimenting with the enzyme telomerase in an attempt to overcome an apparent
limit to the number of times that cells regenerate themselves. Scientists know
that old, deteriorating cells are eliminated and replaced by new ones. In fact,
most of the body is renewed several times during a person’s lifetime. If the
process of renewal could be extended, researchers theorize, “the human body
could regenerate itself for a very long time—even eternally.”
Proponents of cryonics
deep-freeze the bodies of those who have died. The idea is to preserve them
until medical breakthroughs enable doctors to cure diseases, reverse the
effects of aging, and restore both life and health to the dead. The American
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry calls this concept “a present-day
counterpart to the mummification of the ancient Egyptians.”
Man’s relentless quest
for immortality shows how hard it is to accept the idea of an end to his
existence. Is it really going to be possible for mankind to attain everlasting
life?
Mankind is well on the
way to curing many things that kill us. In the not to distant future we will be
extending life far be on our wildest dreams. Even some day perpetual life will
be common place. Someday we will learn and develop how to even resurrect the
dead and bring the dead back to life for those who wish to. According to the
Bible Jesus had that ability and He was not the only one to receive such a
gift. Spirit-anointed Christians chosen to rule as kings in heavenly glory
received the same kind of resurrection that Jesus did. (Romans
6:5) The apostle John shows
that this privilege is granted to thousands of individuals. (Revelation
14:1) They too receive
immortality. Regarding their resurrection. Death has no hold on those who
receive such a resurrection.—1 Corinthians 15:50-53; Revelation
20:6.
Life
Extension Foundation is a good example of an
organization focusing primarily on the biological approach to immortality.
Medical nanotechnology entails the control of large groups of molecular-scale
machines, which could enter the body noninvasively and regularly repair biological
damage on a fine-grained level, before it can accrete. The Foresight Institute, most notably the researcher Robert Freitas
Jr., is widely known for studying the technical and political aspects of
medical nanotechnology, among other types of nanotechnology. Creating benevolent self-improving artificial intelligence is the pursuit of the Singularity Institute for Artificial
Intelligence, a research project
aiming to create genuine transhumanity by exploiting the unique cognitive
advantages a general AI would have relative to humans. These cognitive
resources could rapidly be applied in humanitarian areas, such as life
extension research, with rapidly effective results (from the human
perspective.) The Immortality Institute and the Extropy Institute .
Michael Webster’s Syndicated
Investigative Reports have been read worldwide, in 100 or more U.S. outlets and
in at least 136 countries and territories. He publishes articles in association
with global news agencies and media information services with more than 350
news affiliates in 136 countries. Many of Mr. Webster’s articles are printed in
six working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
With ten more languages planed in the near future.
Mr. Webster is America's leading
authority on Venture Capital/Equity Funding. He served as a trustee on some of
the nation’s largest trade Union funds. A noted Author, Lecturer, Educator,
Emergency Manager, Counter-Terrorist, War on Drugs and War on Terrorist
Specialist, Business Consultant, Newspaper Publisher. Radio News caster. Labor
Law generalist, Teamster Union Business Agent, General Organizer, Union Rank
and File Member Grievances Representative, NLRB Union Representative, Union
Contract Negotiator, Workers Compensation Appeals Board Hearing Representative.
Mr. Webster represented management on that side of the table as the former
Director of Federated of Nevada. Mr. Webster publishes on-line newspapers
