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July 25, 2013

Future Human salon: Extended Lives, Weds August 21

Discover why longevity tech will empower the aged.

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Had enough solar radiation yet? Future Human has, which is why Britain’s razor sharp showcase of future tensity is returning to The Book Club for a new season of salons that will be bigger, bolder and more radically progressive than ever before.

If you’ve yet to parlay, Future Human beckons London’s best and brightest for intoxicated evenings of revelation that have been clapped home by the likes of Boing Boing, The Sunday TimesGrazia and The Daily Telegraph, and will keep these rolling through the winter months.

We’re kicking off with Extended Lives on Wednesday August 21, which will unveil how the latest developments in life extension tech will empower the aged in the next two decades. Our increased longevity is going to change, well, everything: politics, economics, the pop charts, you name it – and we’re going to reveal what an elongated mortality can do for you. You can purchase a ticket at our online store, but move fast as they do too…

Is age a disease? And, if so, can it be treated? Scientists are proposing that advances in nanomedicine, organ cloning, stem cell research, gene therapy and tissue engineering could see us radically increase human lifespan. Some gerontologists even believe we could one day emulate the lobster or the jellyfish, and forcibly evolve our bodies so that they grow immune to the biological processes of ageing.

Even if such breakthroughs prove speculative, we are living through an upswing in human life expectancy. The UK government’s office for national statistics estimates that over a third of the children born today will live to the age of 100 – compare this to the average 47-year lifespan of a Briton born in 1900.

These shifting demographics, as developed nations like the UK age rapidly while birth rates remain low, are quite literally our nation’s destiny. Does the age of a worker disadvantage them in a knowledge economy? Might women, teenagers and the elderly be increasingly conscripted to cover labour shortages? And how will our pension and social welfare systems cope with the pressures put on them by unprecedented increases in dependency?

At Extended Lives we’ll find out how human longevity will profoundly transform society with the help of three esteemed experts on the emerging patterns and science of ageing.

George Magnus is Senior Economic Advisor to the investment bank UBS, and the author of The Age of Ageing, in which he considers the economic impact of the demographic transition to increasingly aged societies. Now an acclaimed writer, George previously had a storied career in investment banking, having worked for Lloyds and Bank of America before advising UBS for over a decade.

Sarah Harper is the founder and director of the University of Oxford’s Institute of Population Ageing, where her research focuses on the impact of ageing populations on the global scale, analysing contributing factors like fertility rates and migration patterns. She has written several books, and advised the Royal Society and Population Europe, among others.

David Chambers is Chief Operating Officer of the Methuselah Foundation, and works with the SENS Foundation, two related organisations that help to fund research into anti-ageing medicine. Using regenerative therapies, SENS aims to slow or halt the cellular deterioration and damage that causes ageing. David is also an entrepreneur, having founded a computer startup and a Singapore based private equity fund.

Once again, it’s at The Book Club from 7pm on Wednesday August 21, and tix are available here. Don’t let summer slothfulness kill a night of inspiration – move fast! Hopefully we’ll see you for a unique blend of information overload, inspirational dialogue and Twitterific cocktail binging, as we learn the cost of living better and longer.

All the best tweets from the Extended Lives salon event on August 23, exploring how life extension science is empowering the aged.

http://storify.com/futurehumanista/future-human-extended-lives