Shall I ask Father Christmas for anti-wrinkle cream this year?

Unconvinced by the faux science in the TV adverts for anti-wrinkle cream I turned to google in my hour of need. I was quickly bombarded by a range of scam drugs, and some interesting information about biotechnology.

I leaned that with the help of nanotechnology we could manipulate our genes to extend our lifespan indefinitely. Incredibly it could go one step further then that – reversing the aging process. One day old people will be able to undergo gene therapy which will make them younger. They will regain all of their youthful health and beauty.

Most scientists agree that aging is the result of malfunction in cells, so by fixing them we can combat the aging process. Nanotechnology could help our bodies repair the cellular wear and tear of life. Tiny machines could extract damaged chromosomes from diseased cells and put new healthy ones in their place. The healthy chromosomes would then reprogram the cells to repair themselves.

Once we have attained eternal youth we could further enhance our bodies by developing what nature has given us. Bones could be made stronger, muscles more powerful and hearing improved so that we could hear a vast range of frequencies.

The most exciting idea for me is ‘respirocytes’. These are like tiny robotic red blood cells but carry 200 times more oxygen and carbon dioxide. If you were injected with enough you could sit at the bottom of a swimming pool for hours, or run as fast as your legs would carry you for 15 minutes without taking a breath.

Respirocytes have little sensors on their surface which detect the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in their surroundings. In your lungs these sensors would signal that it was time to load oxygen and unload carbon dioxide. They would then deliver the oxygen to your tissues and take away any carbon dioxide they found there.

It seems a shame that we are stuck using lotions and potions to keep us looking young when there are all of these theoretical ways of enjoying eternal life.

Mind you, I’m not sure what we’d do with all the people…