Technology and tomorrow’s world may see us live forever

The stem cell experts tell us we could live to be 200 years old in the future – but would we really want to? Because while they keep finding cures for this, that and the other, won’t we still be an aching, shrivelled old bag of bones no matter how you try to see it?

We’d be the human version of Trigger’s broom – the one that the Only Fools and Horses legend proudly claimed to have had for sweeping the roads for 20 years. But then he added that the broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles.

So, we’d be around for two centuries but – like Dolly Parton –  bits of us wouldn’t still be under warranty.

There’s clear evidence that we’re living longer already and that a reasonable prediction would suggest120 years will soon be an attainable target.

But those working in this stem cell field now argue that – through advanced storage and renewal – our bodies could be repaired and restored, no matter what health problems we might face.

In other words, they’re working on a plan to effectively reverse or stall the ageing process.

So – as Mark Hall of the UK’s stem cell bank – StemProtect.co.uk – put it: “In just the same way as we might replace a joint such as a hip with a specially made synthetic device, we can now replace cells in the body with new cells which are healthy and younger versions of the ones they’re replacing.

“That means we can replace diseased or ageing cells – and parts of the body – with entirely new ones which are completely natural and healthy.”

And in case you think this sounds like a sci-fi movie, work is already underway to determine just how stem cells can be deployed to keep us younger for longer.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.