Show Date: June 8, 2005  
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

LIVE FOREVER?
AND
FREE AT LAST

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about living forever. Then we’ll have some expedition calls. Maybe we’ll hear from Christine Boskoff after her success at Mt. Everest. Or perhaps we’ll talk to Bob Silver. We’ll definitely hear from our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan. We’ll also have some science news updates and we’ll be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan and Pam Eastlick for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

THE QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY

Ray Kurzweil, celebrated author and inventor plans to live forever. Not just in the history books, but as a living, breathing, healthy human being. Just in case he does happen to die, he'll have his body cryogenically frozen and preserved by Alcor, the same company that the famous baseball player Ted Williams now calls home, to be thawed when the technology to reanimate him has been developed. At 35, Kurzweil was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Unsatisfied with his medical treatment, he stopped taking insulin injections and crafted his own diet and supplement program. Today, at 56, he shows no signs of the disease. How does he do it?

As part of his daily routine, Kurzweil ingests 250 supplements, eight to 10 glasses of alkaline water and 10 cups of green tea. He also periodically tracks 40 to 50 fitness indicators, down to his "tactile sensitivity." He adjusts his routine as needed.

Kurzweil feels that by following this routine he will live long enough to benefit from a coming explosion in technology he predicts will make immortality possible. He believes that in the next 30 years scientists will develop blood cell-sized robots, which he calls "nanobots," that will keep us forever young by swarming through the body, repairing bones, muscles, arteries and brain cells. Improvements to our genetic coding will be downloaded from the Internet. We won't even need a heart.

I suspect Kurzweil is right about the blood cell-sized robots and the prospect of immortality is a dream we all share. Death has been the one invariable of human existence and the one immutable fact everyone would like to avoid. I personally would love to live forever.

But if you think about it, there are some serious problems with immortality. First, if none of us ever die, we’d better start planning to head out to the stars and do it very quickly because if you think there’s an overcrowding problem on Earth now; just wait until everybody keeps having children and none of them ever die. Quicker than you dreamed possible, there won’t be enough room to sit down, never mind room to grow the food to feed all those hungry mouths.
And here’s another little problem. If we’re dependent on Kurzweil’s nanobots to make and keep us immortal, how much are you willing to pay for them? Do you really think ordinary wage slaves like you and me are going to be able to afford them? Immortality, like the benefits of stem cell research, will cost what the market will bear. And in the case of living forever, I suspect it will bear a lot.

I personally think I could beat boredom. I am almost never bored because there’s always something new and exciting to learn about, but I know a lot of people are very easily bored. If you’re one of them, immortality is probably not for you.

An upside of nanobot-induced immortality could be the complete cessation of all wars. Nanobots could certainly fight disease and wear-and-tear, but I don’t think they’d be much protection against a bullet to the heart or a landmine. Of course, nanobots might put an end to all risky behavior and that would ultimately make the world a poorer place. No more mountain climbing? No more racecar driving? Of course, if the world is wall-to-wall people, you may not want to climb that mountain anyway; you’ll just disturb the people who already live there.

And of course, for those with religious convictions, immortality infinitely postpones your reunion with the creator. No more heaven; no more hell, just an infinite amount of here. So, is immortality for you? For any of us? Join us tonight on The Deep to discuss this thorny issue.

DIGGING OUT
	Have you ever been stuck? It’s a frustrating feeling to watch those spinning tires dig themselves deeper and deeper into the mud or sand. You can rock the car back and forth, and all the available warm bodies can get out and push, but all too often, you just have to call the tow truck to pull you out. But what if there were no able bodies around and the nearest tow truck was over 40 million miles away! In April, the Opportunity rover on Mars got stuck in soft sand and her drivers have been working ever since to free her without benefit of pushers or tow trucks. Last Saturday, 4 June, they succeeded!
Picture of Opportunity’s stuck right front wheel.

So, what comes next? According to Steve Squyres, the mission director;
“The first thing we're going to do is simply take a very hard look at the stuff we were stuck in. Much of the worst terrain was under the belly of the rover through all of this, down where we couldn't see it. From our new position, everything that was under us for all those weeks is now visible. So, we're going to take a little while just to look at where we were. We may also turn to take a look at our tracks (or trenches, or whatever you want to call them) with some of the instruments on the arm. But we'll see about that one... we'll only do it if we're convinced it's safe.”

Whether we’re contemplating living forever or getting unstuck; The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!