Ten-Minute LA-GRG Radio Interview with the BBC World News of London

Thursday, November 12, 1998 at 08:10 AM PST

642CB; Bush House; Strand; London, UK

Mr. Pan: I have visited the GRG website, and, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you five questions about your research into aging: First, what is the major reason for your quest?

Dr. Coles: Quite simply, we do not believe that aging is inevitable. My colleagues and I in the Los Angeles Gerontology Research Group have been studying the aging process in a variety of different species of animals, including humans, for almost 40 years. Our research leads us to conclude that aging should be thought of more as a "disease" than as a "natural" process which is to be our common fate. As such, in principle, the aging process could be subject to interventions just like any other disease process which we could slow down or even reverse.

Arguments to the contrary resemble debates that took place in the early 1960s about why we couldn't or shouldn't "land on the moon." The problem was *not* that we couldn't do it. The problem was that we had not done it *yet*. After we did it, the question of whether we could or should do it became moot. The ney-sayers who once argued with impunity that going to the moon was futile, since "any vessel trying to land on its surface would instantly be swallowed up like quicksand into hundreds of feet of fine dust" were nowhere to be found. There was none of this "I told you we shouldn't have wasted our time trying to go to the moon" business. That's not to say that there weren't subsequent complaints of the form, "If we can go to the moon, how come we can't clean up pollution in our water supply, or whatever?" These complaints, however, were really based on a failure to appreciate the difficulty of certain classes of problems -- political problems, as a class, are always qualitatively harder than purely technological problems. (By the way, we believe that aging is a technological problem.)

Likewise, apologists for the inevitability of the aging process will become instantly invisible when and if interventions against aging prove successful. This does not mean that people will no longer die -- that everyone achieves immortality. There will still be accidents, exposure to severe infections by newly evolved viruses, murders, and suicides. But it does mean that people will no longer be compelled to die of old age as a "primary modality."

Furthermore, we subscribe to a hypothesis called the "Compression of Morbidity Hypothesis." During a vastly extended life span no one should be forced to live a feeble and decrepit existence during their retirement years but have the choice of an active and healthy lifespan.

Mr. Pan: Secondly, what specific goals (as described in the statement of your Charter) do you intend to achieve?

Dr. Coles: We have two specific goals:

(1) A rigorous scientific understanding of the aging process; and

(2) The discovery of means in the next twenty-five years or so to slow and subsequently reverse the aging process at the cellular and molecular levels.

It is our belief that many persons, now living, will benefit from the accomplishment of these goals within our lifetimes.

Mr. Pan: How successful have you been so far?

Dr. Coles: We are in the early stages. But I should hasten to add that we are in the "rocket-motor" stage, not the "Wright Brothers" stage. We do have a strong appreciation for the principles of "aeronautical engineering," as it were. These principles are called the "principles of gerontology" and the principles of "genomic engineering." For example, the complete sequence of the human genome will be known in about 2003. Come back in 20 years and ask us again how far we've gotten and how far we still have to go.

Mr. Pan: Fourth, what are the likely impacts on society at large?

Dr. Coles: Not very much for at least another century. Penetration of technically successful means to overcome aging in the general population will be slowed by important questions of risk/safety, effectiveness, economics, and even desire. Even if the "elixir of the fountain of youth" were discovered tomorrow, and it were very inexpensive, not everybody would be willing to avail themselves of it. "You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." I believe many would be psychologically committed to the old "natural" ways.

Mr. Pan: Finally, how many ordinary people would be interested in your research? (My assumption is that there may be people who believe "death is what God desires," and "aging is just a route to God," or whatever.)

Dr. Coles: As scientists, we don't spend a lot of time discussing God's desires. However, there is no incompatibility between having strong religious convictions, as I do, and conducting scientific research into the aging process. Please read through our short essay entitled "The Revised Book of Genesis" for our philosophical position on this matter. It can be found under the Charter section of our web site at " https://grg.org/charter/genesis.htm ".

Mr. Pan: Thank you for your time, Dr. Coles.

Dr. Coles: The pleasure was all mine.