Methuselah Enzyme

In the year 2044, scientists have revealed new advances to extend the longevity of human life. Within the next years the world's population explodes by more than one billion people each year. Though millions live already deep under the moon's surface, it becomes necessary to search for planets outside our solar system. Tim Turner, a teacher and scientist, tackles this mission by traveling to the sun's next star, Alpha Centauri. The isolation of his task drives him to the edge of lunacy, but what he discovers could prevent the human race from destroying itself. When Turner returns to Earth thirty-six years later, he comes back to an unthinkable situation. What has happened during his absence-and what has become of the two women he loves most? A tantalizing mix of science fiction and love story, Dangerous Voyage to Alpha Centauri poses a fascinating question: Could this plot become a reality for the Earth and its residents in the not-so-distant future?

The quest to live much longer has moved from legend to the laboratory. Recent breakthroughs in genetics and pharmacology have put humanity on the precipice of slowing down human aging to extend the healthy life span. The promise of longer, healthier life is enormously attractive, and poses several challenging questions for Christians. Who wouldn't want to live 120 years or more before dying quickly? How do we make sense of human aging in light of Jesus' invitation to daily take up our crosses with the promise of the resurrection to come? Is there anything wrong with manipulating our bodies technologically to live longer? If so, how long is too long? Should aging itself be treated as a disease? In Chasing Methuselah, Todd Daly examines the modern biomedical anti-aging project from a Christian perspective, drawing on the ancient wisdom of the Desert Fathers, who believed that the incarnation opened a way for human life to regain the longevity of Adam and the biblical patriarchs through prayer and fasting. Daly balances these insights with the christological anthropology of Karl Barth, discussing the implications for human finitude, fear of death, and the use of anti-aging technology, weaving a path between outright condemnation and uncritical enthusiasm.

In The Methuselah Gene, Michael S. Maurer’s mesmerizing medical thriller, Alex Morton, a talented but unorthodox scientist, undertakes the care of little Jimmy Higgins who suffers from one of the rarest diseases in the world, progeria, a genetic mutation that grossly accelerates the aging process. Alex’s study of progeria yields staggering discoveries about the mother of all diseases, aging. What Alex does not know is that Mother Nature jealously guards her secrets and that his newly developed therapies will lead to calamitous unintended consequences.

Many medical authorities predict that average life expectancy could well exceed 100 years by mid century and rise even higher soon thereafter. This astonishing prospect, brought on by the revolution in molecular biology and information technology, confronts policymakers and public health officials with a host of new questions. How will increased longevity affect local and global demographic trends, government taxation and spending, health care, the workplace, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? What ethical and quality-of-life issues are raised by these new breakthroughs? In Coping with Methuselah, a group of practicing scientists and public policy experts come together to address the problems, challenges, and opportunities posed by a longer life span. This book will generate discussion in political, social, and medical circles and help prepare us for the extraordinary possibilities that the future may hold.