I am wondering if there are any studies related to the impact of gravity on the biological aging process. If a human spent his entire life in a zero gravity environment, would that person's average expected lifespan be increased, and if this could somehow be quantified by what amount? This is aside from the visibly apparant affects of a lifetime of gravity on our exterior. My own common-sense theory (I'm not a scientist, just an avid outside the box thinker), is that the constant gravitational forces on our organs, especially the heart and blood, increases workload or the effort needed to function, and that lessening or removing this force could significantly extend their optimal and useful life.
If this were true, and the creation of a viable anti-gravitational field becomes a reality which could be created in a small space and at a reasonable cost (big unkowns and a big leap ahead from current capabilites as seen here and other places http://www.scienceda...0325232140.htm), then this would obviously become the most direct and certain way to increase ones life-span, barring any other major bio related developments. The first most logical application of this would be to utilize it in a bed or sleeping area, where we spend a large portion of our lives. Even without gaining lifespan expectancy, I can see the vanity market, with many people desiring to eliminate 33% of the gravitational pull on our skin. Perhaps even if gravity does indeed have a significant impact on lifespan, the possible creation of a device like this at the scale and cost needed is so far out into the future that breaktrhoughs in other areas such as nanotechnology are sure to become available sooner. I thought I'd throw this out there anyway, and it doesn't hurt to dream. I'd love to hear thoughts on this from those with more knowledge.
