I recently read "The Selfish Gene" and had some thoughts on immortality.
From ancient times to the present, countless warriors have sought medicine from immortals to break the truth that "everyone is mortal", but they have all failed. However, the desire to conquer death has never stopped. Until modern times, with the study of death, people discovered more secrets of death-genes.
The main purpose of genes is to reproduce more offspring. In order to allow the next generation of genes to have more room to grow, the gene will actively let the gene carrier that cannot reproduce the next generation die. Therefore, all gene carriers, animals, plants, microorganisms, etc., die.
Humans are genetically made and one of the intelligent organisms used to reproduce genes. Moreover, in order to reproduce more, genes accidentally give people more intelligence, so people have self-awareness and realize that people are made by genes and are one of the intelligent creatures used to reproduce genes.
Now that we realize that genes are controlling human beings, there is a way to break this control. To live forever, we must get rid of the shackles of genes. To get rid of the shackles of genes, we must first learn to control genes.
We know that in normal cells in the human body, as the number of divisions increases, the telomeres on the DNA will become shorter. The shortening of telomeres means that the cells age, stop dividing, the cells stop dividing, and the human body begins to die. In the human body, however, there is a type of cell that does not die, cancer cells. Cancer cells don't die because they produce telomerase, which lengthens telomeres and keeps cells from aging. However, if the cancer cells in the human body do not die, the normal cells in the human body have no room for survival, which will also lead to the death of the human body. So since telomerase can prevent cells from aging, it is possible to prevent normal cells from aging. Scientists are also investigating how to use telomerase to keep telomeres in normal cells from getting shorter.
If controlling the gene doesn't work, you can find a way to get rid of the gene. For example, since cells will age, can these biological cells be replaced by machine cells, which are the nanorobots we often hear about. If cells in various organs of the body, including brain cells and cells, can be replaced with nanomachine cells, then there is no need to worry about aging and disease at all. Nanobots can be replicated indefinitely, and broken or faulty nanobots can be replaced with new ones.
And many of the original organs in the body are not used, such as the stomach and intestines. The stomach and intestines are the organs in the human body that convert food into energy and remove waste from the body. And nanocellular robots need electricity. The electrical energy can be connected to an external wire, or the skin nano-cells can absorb solar energy and convert the solar energy into electricity. Unwanted stomach and intestinal organs can be turned into nanocell production factories, which are generative factories that produce various organs in the body. Through the previous blood vessels and capillaries, the new nano-cellular robot is sent to the place where it is needed, and then the old nano-cellular robot is replaced and disassembled to become the raw material for the next production.
If it is not possible to make all the cells in the human body into nanorobots. Another way is to take the consciousness out of the body. You are now the sum of all your past. What you've seen, heard, and felt before is stored in the neurons of your brain. However, if the information in these neurons can be copied and stored on a brain-like machine. Even if your body dies, your consciousness is still there. As long as your consciousness does not die, you will live forever. It's just that you are still not you at this time, it is a philosophical question, and it is left to philosophers to discuss.
There is actually an easier way to achieve immortality—living in the hearts of others. As far away as Pangu, Fuxi, Nuwa, etc., as close as my grandfather, Hawking, etc., all live in my heart.