The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging [Paperback]

In 1998, so relates The Quest for Immortality, scientists discovered an enzyme, telomerase, that had the astonishing ability to "immortalise" certain kinds of cells that normally died within a short time. When that discovery was announced to the public, the press put an almost inevitable spin on it: aging was about to become an artefact of the past. Never mind that the scientists in question never claimed that telomerase had anything to do with the lifespan of humans. The discovery became a story because it appealed to our ancient interest in cheating death and living forever. A huge, lucrative industry now caters to that interest, offering the public pills, potions and powders that are meant to reverse and undo the effects of ageing.

Such fixes do not, will not and cannot work, write scientists Jay Olshansky and Bruce Carnes in this book-length argument against the claims of "prolongevists," those who believe that the fountain of youth is just around the corner. "Short of medical interventions that manufacture survival time," the authors argue, "there is very little you can do as an individual to extend the latent potential for longevity that was present at your conception." In the aggregate, they continue, we have already passed the far limits of our life expectancy, as is evident by the fact that many of the diseases that plague us today, such as certain cancers and neuromuscular disorders, are the expression of genes that have long been with us but were not often manifest, because humans did not live long enough for them to become a problem.

Adding still more years will do nothing to improve the quality of life, Olshansky and Carnes suggest. The better approach is to guard our health during the years that are ours--and to regard all claims to immortality and life extension, no matter how attractive, with a sceptical eye. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"All credit to the authors... for managing in this slim volume... to make the subject fascinating, and life tables exciting." London Review of Books

Medical science has uncovered a host of answers to the problems of ageing, but many of the most exciting discoveries are buried in scientific journals or overshadowed by popular quick-fix treatments. This text explains the real science of ageing and shows which treatments offered by today's multi-million pound anti-ageing industries offer real hope and which are a waste of money and time. The book highlights the difference between science and pseudoscience, and between the foolish quest simply to prolong life and the more rational dream of living long lives with independence and good health.

S. JAY OLSHANSKY, University of Illinois, Chicago, and BRUCE A. CARNES, University of Chicago, are pioneering researchers in the field of biodemography.