"Eternal Youth" treatments?

[Jester85]

Greetings all,

I come again seeking ideas.

One of my races in my sci-fi series, I have developed as being an ultimate materialistic narcissistic culture, obsessed with their physical beauty (among other things), and doing cosmetic/genetic tampering with themselves to maintain their youthful appearances as they age. Parents looking barely any older than their adult children, etc. I'm alright with a level of handwavium about this, but are there any halfway plausible scientific or pseudo-scientific chemical baths or treatments or something they could take to look ageless?

Not bathing in the blood of virgins, lol.

I figure they view this like plastic surgery...they all do it, but they like to pretend they don't, and it's "bad form" or socially embarrassing if anyone can smell on you that you've just had a chemical bath.

Someone somewhere else suggested some sort of nitrogen bath?

 

[thaddeus6th]

There's a jellyfish that's immortal (not invincible, mind) because it switches, over long periods, from adult and larval* forms.

*I think this is the correct term, but I'm not a biologist.

I also think lobsters don't die of old age because they've got some chemical or other which prevents the degradation of chromosomes with cellular reproduction (which is basically ageing).

That might be more genetic therapy than you wanted, but I thought it worth a mention.

 

[Locrian]

I think the Mars Trilogy approach to gerontology was just an injection that corrected genetic errors, not so flash, while it was relatively plausible. I liked the futurama approach of slathering people in stem cells.

 

[Mirannan]

A current, and real, therapy for this is brief (really brief - 30 sec or so, maybe less) exposure to temperatures of -100 C or thereabouts. Apparently, it acts a bit like a chemical peel because it kills the top layer which then sloughs off - and also improves surface circulation.

It depends on your setting's tech, but another approach might be nanotechnological micro-repair and genetic fixing. Removing cross-links in the collagen underneath the skin, fixing up capillaries, that sort of thing. It's worth mentioning, I think, that this tech has the potential to be a lot more than superficial in its effects.

 

[Toby Frost]

It might be worth looking at John Wyndham's book Trouble With Lichen, which unsurprisingly involves lichen used in a process to slow down aging. It's quite an old novel, so it might have dated somewhat, though. The only other idea I can think of is to grow cloned bodies and somehow swap brains with them every so often.

 

[cornelius]

A recent study has shown that the process of aging may be linked to bloodstemcells. Healthy people have about 1300 of those that help revitalize the body. They examined a healthy 100-year-old from age 85 to 115 and she only had two of those stemcells left.

 

[End of Time]

A recent study has shown that the process of aging may be linked to bloodstemcells. Healthy people have about 1300 of those that help revitalize the body. They examined a healthy 100-year-old from age 85 to 115 and she only had two of those stemcells left.

I read something on that... gave some credence to the idea of eternally young vampires.

The effects of aging were slowed down or to some degree reversed by injecting older mice with the blood of younger mice.

 

[Fishbowl Helmet]

Mind uploading and resleeving into improved and perfected genetic clones of themselves or stock perfect bodies. Not quite as simple as what you asked for, no, but in about 100 years or so it'll be possible for us to do this, so it's not out of the realm of possibility for an advanced alien species.

 

[JonH]

You could go for a mind over matter approach. Let them meditate, which would let them fix up the appearance of their skins through mental control.

 

[tinkerdan]

you might want to look at how David Weber approaches this issue with his Honor Harrington series.

 

[Mirannan]

You could go for a mind over matter approach. Let them meditate, which would let them fix up the appearance of their skins through mental control.

An example of this is Dune and its sequels, oddly enough. Apart from the anti-aging effects of spice, there is a strong hint that trained Bene Gesserit could make themselves virtually immortal - but for some reason, it's against the rules.

Another approach that might work to some extent, although the science has passed it by somewhat, is the approach in Niven's World Out of Time; selective teleportation of non-excretable waste products.

 

[farntfar]

The mind transfer to a new body is explored in Hanif Kureishi's The body, along with some of its consequences.
Also there is of course Ishiguro's Never let me go which looks at organ replacement as a life extender from the other side of the question.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I would keep it simple and just say that they take hormone injections.

 

[George Ian]

It's Science Fiction - why not make something up? Who can challenge an original, unique treatment?

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I'd go for either stem cells or genetic engineering or a combination. Surgical replacement of organs may help but its crude.

But consider stem cells first. Now lets say you gather stem cells from every newborn and store them for later life. Assuming you've got the technology you then grow the lines (the early ones that are still pluri potent) and make a solution up every month. Then our ageing adult comes in, gets his injection / infusion, and half an hour later leaves the clinic, and for the next few weeks his new cells repair the damage of ageing in his body.

Note that this will maintain health and some of the appearance of ageing, but not all. Skin won't wrinkle so much. But certain features on the body grow through out your life - feet and nose etc. So your two hundred year olds might look somewhat strange.

Cheers, Greg.