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Humans are OK. We work, sort of. But we're a bit
fragile,
and worse, we're an endangered species due to our living
in only one special habitat, Earth.
To counter that, we're going to have to get out and
about a
bit. Unfortunately as NASA know, you need about 10
years
worth of the USA's
energy consumption just to get
something modestly cruise-ship sized up to 1/2 light
speed.
That's a: not very fast b: we don't have an effective way
of
storing or transporting that energy & c: even if we could,
we haven't found a good way of using it to make things
go
fast. While this is depressing, and a compelling
explaination for NASA's obvious malaise, it is also an
opportunity.
We're quite good at biology. As far as we know, we're
the
best, GO EARTH! The physicists are going to need time
to scratch their heads and figure out
what the remaining 95% of the universe is, how to make
and move really very large amounts of energy, and how
to
deploy that out the back of a space liner.
To combat one aspect of human fragility, we should look
to
history. Humans set out on a voyage, a few short months
later and everyone's falling apart from scurvy. Pathetic.
how about we do a bit of that targeted molecular jiggery
pokery and replace our broken gulonolactone oxidase
with
a functional one? Boom! we're scurvy proof.
Next up, we can't synthesize blood glucose from fat. A
bit
crappy considering the much of the human race is
replete
with this resource. Instead we strip out amino acids from
muscle, which is already an issue in space. There are
plenty of plants and things that are good at this, so, you
put the relevant genes in a mouse model, if it works
BOOM!
we can live entirely off fat and protein.
Before you know it we'll be as tough as big-brained
cockroaches, and if the physicists haven't got it together,
we'll be all the more likely to survive the asteroid
fallout.
Camel's and Water
http://www.djur.cob...artiklar/Kamel.html
[bs0u0155, Aug 30 2014]
japanese old people
http://www.theguard...entenarians-records
[bs0u0155, Aug 31 2014]
[link]
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You should talk to my buddy Bill Rowe - he has very
definite views on the physiological suitability of
humans for prolonged spaceflight. Personally, I
disagree with him, but you might find you need to
tinker about with calcium and iron metabolism and a
bunch of other stuff. |
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//we'll be all the ore likely to survive the asteroid
fallout.// I don't think we'd be very valuable ore -
humans reduce to a couple of dollars worth of
minerals. I suppose an incinerated human population
could be profitably mined for gold from their fillings. |
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I dunno, the ageing population will supply a beautiful
enrichment of surgical grade titanium, stainless steel and
some other interesting minerals in pacemakers and the like. |
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// an incinerated human population could be profitably mined for gold
from their fillings // |
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The Galápagos tortoise "can endure 18 months when deprived of all food and water, surviving by breaking down their body fat to produce water as a by-product" and can live up to 170 years in captivity. Sign me up for the fat break-up technology. |
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Humans do the same. In fact all animals with fat
reserves convert it into water when starved. A
camel's hump is full of fat, and the water it gets from
metabolising it is just as important as the energy. It
just happens that humans need more water than they
can get from fat-burning alone. |
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It looks like the metabolism of fat by camels is simply food. <link>. I
think the main adaptation camels have is allowing their body temp to
increase into the forties. Can you comment on the prevelence of
cysteine codons in the camel genome? |
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How about reengineering us for hibernation? |
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Adding antifreeze to blood & cells (courtesy of certain toads beetles & other organisms) so we can just freeze ourselves on long trips (cryogenics as is faces so many problems with our current setup, so engineer it from the other direction, us). |
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A little limb regeneration a la newt would be nice. |
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And then of course there's those pesky telomeres, can't anyone do anything about those, I'd really like to live for ever you know, at least once before I die. |
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// reengineering us for hibernation // |
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Numerous mammals, including bears, have the ability to hibernate. No
antifreeze needed, just a massive decrease in metabolic rate.
Research into the mechanisms is proceeding. |
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You still metabolise & burn calories though, so only good for short journeys (within same solar system perhaps). |
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But might be nice in conjunction with the antifreeze, go to sleep, slip into hibernation, gently freeze as the auto thermostat linked to bio sensors lowers the temperature once you have, reverse process other end. |
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My vision for the long haul sub-light speed flights. |
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//In theory// //already possible// //did a bit of research on this last time// |
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Fairy dust & the magically re-growing finger? |
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Keeping the end of the re-growing limb / digit as an open wound for months (let alone years) & dusting ground placenta (or whatever the hell it was) on it daily seems like a bit of a grind. |
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Literally in some senses, as you have to stop a scab forming & shave a bit off the end if it begins to heal over (ouchy). |
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Was really hoping for something a little more low maintenance, & less painful ;) |
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//idea is all about what ? Survivalism ?// |
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Reaching the stars old chap, reaching the stars. |
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Survivalism seems to be a footnote on the offchance we can't, did I get that right [b]? |
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:) not sure it's been identified yet, could be a little hard to do if not ;) |
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//just a massive decrease in metabolic rate |
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As seen in humans on Sunday afternoons. |
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//Boom! we're scurvy proof. |
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As one of those limeys.... |
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How about an upgrade to increase cognitive rates in
the run up to elections? That would be of greater
help to mankind. |
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Smarter would be nice, but there's other things I'd like first. |
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A dolphins marginally decoupled hemisphere's would be tops (after immortality regeneration & eternal youth of course), so I can sleep one side at a time. |
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Here's another, how about a symbiotic bonding with a subcutaneous algae, just below the skin (where it still gets enough sunlight), turn us all into lichens. |
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Should make deep space easier, won't need as much food (so less fuel), & help with world food shortages (latest famine is always somewhere sunny / it works best somewhere sunny). |
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//Can you comment on the prevelence of cysteine
codons in the camel genome?// |
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Certainly: my, but there are cysteine codons in the
camel genome. (Actually, if I had to guess, I would
say they were no more abundant than in other
mammals; 40°C isn't hot enough to require extra
cysteines to stabilise proteins, I think). |
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//turn us all into lichens.// |
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No Lichenthropy!
There's a lot of moons out there. |
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If you skim the advice for speeding up your metabolism and do the opposite, will you live longer? |
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1) Have low muscle mass
2) Eat very little, but only a few times a day
3) Stay mildly dehydrated
4) Increase your intake of certain pesticides
5) Don't move around too much. |
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In the lab experiments with mice are suggestive of a yes. |
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Howsoever, we aren't mice & though suggestive it can't be relied on to transpose in a similar statistical fashion to humans, the problem with human trials of course is it'll take about 80 years or so for the first raft of results to start coming in. |
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And we aren't doing any, a few individuals have started regimes of this nature in the belief it will have the desired effect, but their numbers are too small to be relied on statistically if they do end up living longer than the rest of us, & it seems an awful lot of deprivation to put yourself through (a lifetimes worth, a bit more if it works) just on the off-chance of a handful of extra years. |
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Which is a really long way of saying all else being equal it probably works but we don't know yet & it almost certainly isn't worth the cost for the return if it does ;) |
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Are there not entire populations who have had a
restricted calorie intake for their lifetime? Or are all
such populations malnourished as well as being
undernourished? In other words, isn't there a natural
experiment we can look at? |
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ah... true, but I'd guess the problem with that is the all else being equal bit? |
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The Japanese with their traditional low calorie / animal fat diet (more fish less meat etc.) might be one. |
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Thing is the rest of the lifestyle for any group you might use also differs, not just the food, mucks up your data that, you can't point at any one thing then & say "that's the reason"? |
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You need a population culturally separate diet-wise but not genetically separate don't you (or it may be genes not diet)? |
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One problem with that is any cultural separation adequate to purpose for the diet may be strong enough to (over time) create it's own genetic separation (however small), the Amish may be a case in point? |
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That and the reporting was screwed for years. IIRC their social
security records were all on paper, and there were many people
claiming pensions for years after their deaths. So the Japanese
lifespan has been revised downward a little. Still top though. |
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Probably downwards a little more since Fukushima ... |
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//Reaching the stars old chap, reaching the stars// |
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Ach, we've seen 'em, they're rubbish. |
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//almost certainly isn't worth the cost for the return// |
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Of course that's a personal assessment, I have an almost unnatural fondness for red meat, so my opinion there should be considered suspect ;) |
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//Ach, we've seen 'em// //rubbish// |
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Just because you've already seen the movie is no reason to spoil it for the children ;) |
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//there were many people claiming pensions for
years after their deaths// |
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I think this would need a complete working model of all molecular pathways and lingering environmental free agents. Changing one facet will inevitably cause a change somewhere else. Fingers crossed it is a good change although good side effects are not usually stated on the bottle or therapy. |
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As for limb growth, a field is needed. In the embryo the limb was there from the start. |
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