The Immortality Project (SCIENCE!)

[13_CBS]

DARPA has apparently been funded to, essentially, create immortal life forms with kill switches; sci-fi hilarity to ensue (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98086-Pentagon-to-Rewrite-Evolution-Create-Immortal-Life)


I, for one, welcome our immortal overlords. :smallbiggrin:

[Comet]

I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty sure seeing that face combined with the words 'molecular killswitch' is going to give me some serious nightmares tonight.

Interesting article, though.

[golentan]

DARPA has apparently been funded to, essentially, create immortal life forms with kill switches; sci-fi hilarity to ensue (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98086-Pentagon-to-Rewrite-Evolution-Create-Immortal-Life)


I, for one, welcome our immortal overlords. :smallbiggrin:

Eh. Immortality treatments (despite all of the bat**** economic effects) has been a dream of humans for millennia. Right now, I think they're looking at small scale, non-reproductive organisms: hardly going to take over the world.

I'm surprised that the Escapist covered the "Zombie Serum" though. I've been following the research on that since 2005, and nobody ever believes me. It's pretty amazing.

[reorith]

lol science. if they want true power, they should study alchemy.

[Gamerlord]

I imagine the immortal ones would get pretty bored though.

[SurlySeraph]

I take comfort in the fact that their objective is extremely vague, poorly funded, and likely to be extremely difficult.

And that they're now working on immortality rather than on flesh-eating robots. (http://gizmodo.com/5311824/darpa-stops-trying-not-to-be-terrifying-funds-chainsaw+wielding-flesh+eating-robot)

[Kobold-Bard]

Dibs. I'm getting me some self-destructing, genetically loyal, immortal minions.

And one of those flesh eating chainsaw robots.

[Prime32]

Technically, cancer cells are clinically immortal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_immortality).

They're in wide use in the drug industry, in fact, spliced with genes to produce the desired chemical.

According to the linked page, some types of jellyfish are also immortal.

[Mando Knight]

I can see this going two ways if successfully used on humans. Both are scary.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b6/Clonetroopers.jpeghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/2/26/Khan_Noonien_Singh%2C_2285.jpg

[Icewalker]

This isn't something which will be applied to people, it is for the creation of new, and very simple (for now :smallamused: ) biological creations.

In fact, I don't really know what it would be used for now, if they can pull it off.

No, when it comes to immortality, I'm far more interested in the procedure of mapping the human brain into a computer.

[golentan]

I can see this going two ways if successfully used on humans. Both are scary.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b6/Clonetroopers.jpeghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/2/26/Khan_Noonien_Singh%2C_2285.jpg

You, my friend, need to watch/read better science fiction.

[arguskos]

You, my friend, need to watch/read better science fiction.
Yes on the first, HERESY on the second. Khan Noonien Singh is the pinnacle of humanity's potential! :smallamused:

[Gamerlord]

You, my friend, need to watch/read better science fiction.

I agree on the first, but the second? YOU ARE A HERETIC UNWORTHY OF THE TITLE SCI-FI FAN!

[Maximum Zersk]

Why does this bring Icarus to mind.

Reminds me of that type of jellyfish that can live forever. After it mates it goes back to the state of a polyp, and then starts maturing to an adult again.

Of course, no one would want THAT type of immortality.

Or immortality all-together (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhoWantsToLiveForever) if they're Genre Savvy or not. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreSavvy)

[Kobold-Bard]

You, my friend, need to watch/read better science fiction.


Yes on the first, HERESY on the second. Khan Noonien Singh is the pinnacle of humanity's potential! :smallamused:


I agree on the first, but the second? YOU ARE A HERETIC UNWORTHY OF THE TITLE SCI-FI FAN!

Hive-mind nerd rage. Is there any greater sight on the interwebz :smallwink:

I still want the flesh eating chainsaw robot.

[AtomicKitKat]

Why does this bring Icarus to mind.

Reminds me of that type of jellyfish that can live forever. After it mates it goes back to the state of a polyp, and then starts maturing to an adult again.

Of course, no one would want THAT type of immortality.

Sez you! I would totally enjoy going through as many childhoods as my mind can handle. Assuming that one does not lose too much memory(just limitations in thought processes caused by the neural synapses being too close together or something), it would be grand being the smartest kid in school. Admittedly, the hard part is bypassing the "mating=regressing" limitation.

I still say splicing portions of cancer cells into human host cells is probably the way to go vis a vis immortality. Hence, my creation of the Sentient Tumour for the Halloween contest a couple years back. Admittedly, that was derived from the Cancer Mage Prestige Class, but it's still somewhat valid, damnit!:smallamused:

[Mathis]

Hmm, are there any additional sources on the project itself, other than the link to the budget?

[Prime32]

I still say splicing portions of cancer cells into human host cells is probably the way to go vis a vis immortality. Hence, my creation of the Sentient Tumour for the Halloween contest a couple years back. Admittedly, that was derived from the Cancer Mage Prestige Class, but it's still somewhat valid, damnit!:smallamused:Wouldn't that, um, give you cancer?

[SurlySeraph]

I still say splicing portions of cancer cells into human host cells is probably the way to go vis a vis immortality.

...
I can only see, like, 5 ways in which that's a terrible idea. Specifically, that it's likely to cause cancer, unlikely to have any effect, does not bring us closer to understanding and therefore being able to replicate the mechanism by which cancer cells are clinically immortal, the cells will almost certainly will be destroyed by the host's immune system in the event that they don't give the host cancer, and that you will never find test subjects willing to try it.

[SDF]

This kind of research is unlikely to yield anything dangerous. In fact it should expand our knowledge of the telomere phase and aging in general.

[Coidzor]

D...Did they just use "laws of evolution" in an unironic way?

...And ethical dilemmas from creating unicellular life forms to do specific tasks? Maybe if the project lasted long enough to get up to multicellular life forms, then we'd run into some actual ethical dilemmas from just the tinkering. As it stands, it's only unethical if it does something unethical. Like gray goo. That's unethical, but you don't need a bioethicist to tell you that.

*facepalm*
...
I can only see, like, 5 ways in which that's a terrible idea. Specifically, that it's likely to cause cancer, unlikely to have any effect, does not bring us closer to understanding and therefore being able to replicate the mechanism by which cancer cells are clinically immortal, the cells will almost certainly will be destroyed by the host's immune system in the event that they don't give the host cancer, and that you will never find test subjects willing to try it.

One of which is Deadpool.


I can see this going two ways if successfully used on humans. Both are scary.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b6/Clonetroopers.jpeghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/2/26/Khan_Noonien_Singh%2C_2285.jpg

Hey, Khan was kickbutt. Clonetroopers were passable, least they weren't all copies of palpatine. :smalleek: Hoo, would that fill a galaxy with ugly right quick.

... I think I've just seen a glimmer of the date rape drugs of the future...:smalleek: (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96788-Pentagon-Zombifying-Pigs-to-Save-Wounded-Soldiers)

[Dr.Epic]

I, for one, welcome our immortal overlords. :smallbiggrin:

There can be only one!

[Solaris]

Mm, DARPA. I'm betting there's a special ward in hell reserved for those sick cats. Although, to be fair, they are helping prosthesis technology advance by light-years thanks to this last war. A sense of touch, for example (but that's not just DARPA).

Anyone else remember seeing mention of the projects leading into robotic drones controlled by cyborg operators utilizing implanted communications rigs? You wanna talk about scary... "My name is Legion".

[Kobold-Bard]

There can be only one!

So that's how it happened. It all makes sense.

<Goes to buy a big-ass sword and get to DARPA>

[AtomicKitKat]

...
I can only see, like, 5 ways in which that's a terrible idea. Specifically, that it's likely to cause cancer, unlikely to have any effect, does not bring us closer to understanding and therefore being able to replicate the mechanism by which cancer cells are clinically immortal, the cells will almost certainly will be destroyed by the host's immune system in the event that they don't give the host cancer, and that you will never find test subjects willing to try it.

*raises hand* I would. But then, I've always had this feeling that the day I get cancer, is the start of my immortality. I guess I didn't phrase it quite right. What I meant was that we identify the portions of cancer cells that allow them to replicate without telomere degeneration, then we apply it to human cells. Interestingly, if I remember correctly, acromegaly as caused by tumours, either bypasses, or reverses the "seal off portions of long bones that grow" termination sequence of puberty, hence the never-ending height increase. That might be another good place to look(could also be a "cure" for those who feel that being vertically challenged is a "disease", which it is, in some cases).

[Faulty]

And then AM tortured them for all eternity. The end.

[Maximum Zersk]

...
I can only see, like, 5 ways in which that's a terrible idea. Specifically, that it's likely to cause cancer, unlikely to have any effect, does not bring us closer to understanding and therefore being able to replicate the mechanism by which cancer cells are clinically immortal, the cells will almost certainly will be destroyed by the host's immune system in the event that they don't give the host cancer, and that you will never find test subjects willing to try it.

"15, if that fork is a dangerous half-breed."

:smalltongue:

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Immortality is for losers...

[Kobold-Bard]

Immortality is for losers...

:xykon: disagrees. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0652.html)

[TSGames]

No, when it comes to immortality, I'm far more interested in the procedure of mapping the human brain into a computer.
I second that. Just pay close attention to EULA when the technology becomes publicly available. GOOGLE WILL OWN YOUR BRAIN!!!!