By Eve Hanks From The Australian . . . What's different today is that the riddle of why we age has become the focus of intensive scientific research across the globe. The research has even attained a strong air of respectability, with some geneticists predicting an average life span of 140 years by the mid-21st century, through the development of new longevity drugs.
Biotechnology is indeed the flavour of the year.
In the US, a ballooning number of commercial organisations are dedicated to unearthing the mysteries of ageing. The Geron Corporation with 89 employees is one of the more established pioneers in the area, attempting to introduce potentially lucrative rehabilitative and diagnostic products for treating cancer and other age-related diseases. The company has taken its research into the microscopic world of the single cell. Theoretically, the scientists believe, working on the parts that make up the whole could help the whole to survive longer. Geron concentrates its cell investigation on telomeres, tiny non-coding cuffs on the ends of chromosomes that act like the plastic ends of shoelaces.