Thanks for posting David! Good to see more popular media spreading the meme. After a while, I would expect more people to start asking "what is next?" After we replace our worn out parts, what will we do next to stay young and healthy/ Why should we stop treating ourselves?
Yes. An advantage not mentioned in the video is why not enhance the new organs? For example the guardian of the genome p53, I've heard elephants have a dozen copies of the gene... we could see what other changes have been done, for example in whales. A human organ with altered whale-like cancer resistance would be for all intents and purposes CANCER-PROOF, you could easily increase telomerase expression substantially on the organ's modified stem cells without worry, keeping it young and healthy. What about the negligible senescence organisms? The organ could also be modified to exhibit negligible senescence.
Since the cell's that will compose the new organ can be more easily genetically engineered and checked by sequencing to make sure everything's all right, it should be far easier than modifying an entire human body.
There are also other possibilities like learning from organisms that can slow or halt their metabolism in the event of low oxygen, nutrients, water, etc. In the event of cardiac arrest, say natural or due to injury such as an accident, bullet or stabbing, the organs could slow or halt metabolism allowing for emergency care without worry. Slowed or halted metabolism would allow an organ to survive for very long periods in the event of injury, accident, being trapped by debris(earthquake, collapse, etc.).
The brain would necessitate in situ gene therapy, but it is the organ that could benefit the most if we could somehow allow for slowed or halted metabolism.
There are other interventions that would help organs and the brain without halting metabolism, allowing an individual to act, move, etc in emergency situations. I've heard that aquatic animals with lungs, that spend more than an hour deep underwater(note that after a few minutes oxygen levels in the blood plummet), they have globin adaptations in their tissues that allow them to hold oxygen and function for over an hour without breathing.
No human can survive longer than a few minutes underwater, and even a well-trained Olympic swimmer needs frequent gulps of air. Our brains need a constant supply of oxygen, particularly during exercise....
Contrast that with Weddell seals, animals that dive and hunt under the Antarctic sea ice. They hold their breath for as long as 90 minutes, and remain active and mentally alert the whole time. The seals aren't fazed at all by low levels of oxygen that would cause humans to black out. What's their secret?...
"What was remarkable was the level of variability we found," said Williams. "Some animals had three to 10 times more neuroprotecting type globins than others. These wild species may hold many clues about how to turn on protective mechanisms in the mammalian brain."...
As this research project continues, it might expand to include an investigation of whether high levels of brain globins are correlated with long lifespans in certain species. Bowhead whales have been known to live as long as 211 years, Williams noted. That makes her wonder how their brains are protected and whether whales ever suffer from strokes.
"These animals may have solved the aging brain problem," she noted. "Neuroglobins might give us some clues as to how."-link
LongeCity
