THERE is little downside to the wonderful reality that human beings are now living longer than ever before. While many assume that society’s economic burden radically increases with greater longevity, the reality is the opposite. Everyone is better off because of longer life expectancies.
Scientists are on the brink of radically expanding the span of a healthy life. AuthorSonia Arrisonon the latest advances—and what they mean for human existence.
In America, a large part of funding for regenerative medicine comes from the Department of Defense, whose goal is to repair soldiers who come home wounded. That is an effort everyone recognizes as important. Yet, when it comes to repairing older people whose hearts and lungs are failing, society seems at peace accepting their demise because that is all humanity has ever known -- a state of mind that some call the "pro-death trance."
Kids need to be clear that logging on to services like Facebook is like walking into a public place -- you can find people you know, you can see others you don't know, and there are many whom you do not want to know. This is a basic and important lesson to learn. Regulators should focus their energy on how to make sure that kids whose parents aren't doing their jobs can still get educated about online safety.
