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An
Invitation
Creating very old people: Individual blessing or societal
disaster
(February 2004)
That is the title of a symposium to be held at the Marriott Glenpointe
Hotel in Teaneck, New Jersey on April 30, 2004. It is an extremely
important issue. We now are moving to the capacity to increase life
expectancy at birth from the current 77 years to 90 to 95 years.
That will happen relatively quickly. That is just the beginning.
Many scientists now consider aging as a disease and they are now
working very hard to understand the aging process and then literally
change the boundaries of aging allowing people to have life expectancies
on average of 110 to 120 or more years. Some highly regarded experts
now say that, once we learn how to change the boundaries of aging,
there is actually no upper limit.
The science is moving at breakneck speed; already extraordinary
life extension has been achieved in fruit flies, earthworms, mice
and rats - and the studies in monkeys, now halfway through their
25-year span, look as if similar results will be found. Already
there are scientists and companies in the process of creating drugs
that can halt the aging process. Yet, there is virtually no public
awareness of or debate about the possibilities and the perils.
The morning of the conference will be devoted to the scientific
efforts. In each field, we will discuss the state of the art of
the scientific approach - where it is, where it is going, the goals,
the obstacles. The afternoon will be devoted to the consequences
for the individual and for society - the promise, the dangers, the
effect on US and world population.
This critical and seminal conference is sponsored by the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the New Jersey Medical
School, the Healthful Life Program, and Hackensack University Medical
Center.
CLICK
HERE for the agenda
CLICK
HERE for the roster of speakers
For registration information ($50/person), call 973-972-0125 or
973-972-0124, or email louriado@umdnj.edu, or fax 973-972-0025.
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