Living Forever - has it been solved already?

We live in a world where longevity is the biggest biohacking goal of modern humankind. Billionaires are pouring money into trying to live forever and getting others to do it as well.

But have you considered the fact that there is already something in you that lives forever?

It is called a gene.

It lives forever, or at least comes close. Are you, then, just a vehicle for the gene to live forever?

One of the enduring questions for living species is: Why do we die? If evolution was as incredible as we claim, why would it not simply build a creature that could live forever?

It would then not have to procreate. There would be no worry about whether a chain might break and stop the spread of a species.

Wouldn't that be the most natural evolution for a living being? Then we would not need billionaires to solve the problem of longevity and ageing.

Richard Dawkins, in his book, The Selfish Gene, gave us one possible explanation. He argued that longevity was actually a gene. Our body is just the carrier.

So the gene replicates itself over and over again, from generation to generation. It creates us as a way to pass the gene on. So nature and evolution have already solved the problem.

Why, then, are we trying to live forever? What would happen to our genes if we tried?

From a genetic point of view, once you have reached the age where you are able to and have passed your gene on, you no longer have any utility.

In fact, on the whole, it would be better if you left and the resources could be used for the next generation. In this context, death makes perfect sense.

So if we reached a point where we could live forever, would we now be at odds with our genes? What kind of mutations or evolution might we see if that happens?

The answer may actually be philosophical. I asked Dr. Rajiv Kumar on my show this question. He succinctly said, "You don't need much time to achieve your purpose on earth and therefore have no need to live forever."

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