METHUSELAX - a novel

“Is death inevitable?” 

“Of course not.”

“But our health declines steadily with age, our bodies inexorably wear out.” 

“More precisely, our body parts wear out, but they’re just parts, all replaceable. The cells lining the inner surface of our stomach and intestines are replaced every three to four days. Epithelial cells forming the outer layer of our skin live only a month before sloughing off, as new layers push up to the surface. Red blood cells have a life span of four months, so our circulatory system components are gradually replenished with a completely fresh population three times a year. Even nerve and muscle cells, once thought to never divide, can be coaxed to replicate under special conditions.” 

“Then why do we die?” 

“Because the genetic program dictating the structure and function of our cells is corrupted over time. Our DNA blueprint accumulates damage as we age, and those errors are transferred to every newly manufactured replacement cell. Eventually the mutational burden reaches an unsustainable level, vital functions are disrupted, and the entire system fails.” 

“As I understand it, recombinant DNA technology can now repair mutations inside our bodies.” 

“That’s true, but the current paradigm in genetic research is to target a particular gene involved in a specific disorder. It’s primarily a one-at-a-time approach. Addressing the comprehensive process of age-associated decline would require a fundamentally different strategy. It would require surveillance and correction of the entire DNA repertoire within the body of a living human being, not just fixing one or a few selected genetic elements.” 

“Is such large-scale revision feasible?” 

“I have some ideas . . .”