(Initial publication on October 1991; slightly updated on February 11, 2011 )
The Gerontology Research Group -- with chapters located in Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, GA -- is dedicated to the proposition death is not an inevitable consequence of the human condition. Throughout history, a variety of apologists for this condition have sought to persuade us that death must be desirable, since it was unreasonable for us to try to do anything about it. But, to the contrary, we hold that aging is simply a biological phenomenon dictated by our human genome. Therefore, it is susceptible to clinical intervention like any other physiological/pathological process, such as heart disease, cancer, COPD, stroke, or diabetes. With advances in modern science and medicine accelerating, it is now time to devote significant resources to turning the tide and to appreciate that death is an imposition on the human race that should no longer be tolerated.
In our view, the human lifespan is a side effect of an historical adaptation to our role as hunter-gatherers, a role that was capriciously thrust upon us without our consent ~200,000 years ago during the evolution of our mammalian hominid species. We imagine this prior era to have been a fiercely competitive time during which Homo sapiens slowly differentiated from our primate cousins through a process of Darwinian natural selection. There is now evidence that no fewer than 20 hominid species (who stood on two legs) appeared on the scene around the same time as we did, lived for a while, and then subsequently became extinct (presumably not by choice). However, following the acquisition of sufficient technical means, our species came to dominate the Earth (through the discovery of civilization), and we declared an immediate halt to this relentless Darwinian game of life (thus, we ruthlessly eliminated all potential predators). Subsequently, we came to appreciate the phenomenon of our own mortality secondary to intrinsic aging (biological aging is never visible in nature; it only manifests itself in the context of zoos where creatures are protected from predators within a civilization). Recognizing our impotence to do anything about our condition, we decided that it was more prudent not to complain too loudly. This may explain the basis for universal institutional apologism. But now we are approaching a time (the Singularity) in which we will routinely intervene in the aging process at the molecular level. We therefore dedicate ourselves to removing this arbitrary constraint of a sharply limited human lifespan (a longevity phenotype that we now call "The Calment Limit" in honor of Madam Jeanne Calment who died in 1997 at the age of 122). Furthermore, we seek to accomplish this challenge within our own lifetimes.
In particular, we strive to achieve before the year 2040:
(1) A rigorous scientific understanding of the genetic and cellular mechanisms of
embryological development, reproductive maturation, aging, and senescence;
(2) The application of ongoing research in experimental biogerontology with the aim of
extending vital human lifespan without limit (as currently dictated by natural biological
processes).
Accordingly, we are open to consider a variety of therapeutic interventions, providing that they can be shown to be effective, and that they can be reduced to practice within our own lifetimes. Examples of such interventions include, but are not limited to the following: genetic engineering using retroviral or liposomal vectors for the delivery of Human Artificial Chromosomes that involve longevity determination, Embryonic and Autologous Adult Stem-Cell Technology (induced pleuripotent cells, Therapeutic Cloning, and related cytokines), telomeric manipulations to extend their length (to overcome the Hayflick Limit of mitotically-challenged cells), rejuvenation of mitochondria such as takes place during fertilization of the oocyte with epigenetic reprogramming, discoveries in nutrition or dietary restriction, the development of new pharmacologic agents, the novel delivery of medications and/or natural hormones (or their secretogogues) using implantable pumps, nanotechnology, cryonic suspension (but only as a last resort), and other experimental investigations utilizing cells from bacterial colonies, yeast, nematodes, fruit flies, fish, rodents, bats, rabbits, monkeys, whales, as well as human embryonic and adult stem-cell lines.
Click for an audio narration of the text shown above. Sadly, it appears that our audio files have been lost in transferring files between servers and did not make it over when we changed Internet Service Providers some years ago. We will search for them when time permits.
[Editors Note: The First Draft of this
Charter was composed during in the Fall of 1991. It has not been substantially revised over the
last twenty years. - February 2011.
It should also be noted that the organization that preceded the GRG was formed by four
individuals who met together for one time in New York City during the Summer of 1960.
The Project defined by this prescient group after about two hours of discussion was called
"Project I" (BTW, the "I" stood for Immortality, not for the Roman Number one). The original
project called for three subparts to be completed by the year 2000: Biology (40 percent), Bionics
(40 percent), and Implications for Society (20 percent). Progress reports were to be written every
ten years in 1970, 1980, and 1990, with a final report in the year 2000. In retrospect, the first part
(Molecular Biology) has turned out to be the most difficult and continues to consume all of our
time.]