According to this post from Healthscout.com, scientists have "grouped together a series of genetic variants" that can help determine who will live long and who has the genetic disposition to die young. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to determine who is likely to die young, and to make sure these people get the medical intervention they need to live longer.
Experts who performed the study said it can be determined how long people will live simply by learning how long their parent's lived, yet events such as this study will be better capable of helping scientists pave the way for "advances in science."
Right now about 6,000 people have obtained the age of 100, and, so long as one has his mental capacity, I personally think this would be an awesome age to obtain. Could you imagine if this blog were still going, say, in 2070. If that were the case, this blogger would have been retired, hopefully, for 40 years.
But can you just imagine the changes in respiratory care in that time? Can you imagine the stories we'd be able to tell? I think it would be awesome.
Now there are many who don't want to know their genetic trends, yet I think it would be a great idea. Obviously I have a genetic disposition to asthma, yet science has proven that mild to moderate asthma (most cases of asthma) do not alter the length of someone's life. Thus, the average lifespan right now is 80. Yet perhaps in another 20 years or so that number will be increased to, say, 100.
Of course that wouldn't be so good if there were a bunch of 80 to 100 year old blobs of skin with no brains in their heads; people dependent on the government; on the hands who feed and clothe and place them in wheelchairs each morning so they can roll around mindlessly in some building redolent of pee and bleach.
The people paying the medical bills, and socialists, wouldn't like this system would they?
Yet, being the optimist I am, I believe we could be around longer, and we could enjoy life longer, so long as we continue to move forth science as this study purports to do. I think longevity is a good thing.
If, say, it is determined I have a genetic predisposition to heart disease, then my doctor would know this and be able to help me with preventative measures. I could make sure I get plenty of exercise, and never start smoking, and eat right for starters. And, if necessary, he may look into medicinal options.
So anyway, I think studies like this, however trivial they seem to you and me, are a great step forward. While we are right now in the communication era, I bet the next era may be the genetics era, where there are mega advancements in genetics and, perhaps, length of life.
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