I’ve been finding it difficult to find the time to read since the semester began. I’m hoping posting these reading updates (hopefully) weekly will motivate me more to continue to read with some consistency.
Book: Kaku, Michio. Physics of the Future. Doubleday, 2011.
Chapter: “3. Future of Medicine”
Summary: In Near Future, Kaku sees the rise of bioinformatics being prominent. (This is already true: 23&Me, Ancestry.com, etc.) He acknowledges we are getting better at cloning and fighting cancer, though the war is far from won. In Midcentury, he expands on the coming biotechnological revolution comprised largely of genetic manipulation: gene therapy, designer babies, and all their ethical concerns come to the fore. According to Kaku, genetic enhancements may become commonplace, maybe even indispensable in the future of space exploration (142). In Far Future, he discusses, among other things, the real possibility that we will end death by old age. This alone, however, will not make us immortal. We will still die by other means (e.g., accidents).
Thoughts: Kaku covers a lot in this chapter. There are many interviews and experts cited. There are bold claims, such as those in Far Future, of which I remain skeptical, if hopeful. I first read futurist Raymond Kurzweil make the point that if we focus on life extension, there may be future innovations that allow us to build a bridge to a bridge to a bridge - in effect, allowing us to conquer death from old age. Well, I don’t think this chapter adds any real reason, beyond those already generally known within longevity circles, to be more optimistic. Kurzweil and others seem to be aging more or less normally, if better than most.