Re "immortality gene revealed."

Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Tue, 6 Jan 1998 11:27:19 -0800 (PST)


From: Damien Broderick <damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au>

>>I believe we are seeing this now as technology prolongs the
>>period human females remain fertile. Recent experiments in egg
>>freezing will increase this.

>The former, yes. The latter, absolutley not.

Geneticly and neotenically correct. I did not phrase this well I
mean't to suggest that women having children at progressively later
times in life would become the norm. Some would be able to have
their own (longer lived gene) babies, others could take advantage
of previously frozen eggs (insurance). Either way people might
start having children when they are better prepared, emotionally as
well as financially. This could have unintended genetic advantages
besides perhaps more children developing better. A memetic effect
having a genetic effect.

> Unless some gerontocracy weirdly starts freezing the eggs of
>very-late fertile women and has them (1) fertilised with old men's
>screened sperm and (2) preferentially implanted into young women.
>A mass market version of Heinlein's Howard Families.

It might be odd but it would still work, it's not what I meant
though.

(2) Why younger women?

Brian
Member,Extropy Institute