As IF Times

link Study links 180,000 global deaths to sugary drinks.

From all of the learned studies that keep appearing in the news, it looks as if science is well on the way to isolating and eventually eliminating all causes of death.  This is quite remarkable and evidence that science is good for things other than keeping test tube and Bunsen burner makers in business.  As has been discussed previously, the life span of humans may yet get extended to 150.

According to a recent U.S. Census report, the world’s population is just over 7 billion people as of March of 2012; 7.074 billion to be precise, although there may have some double counting in some countries and some under-counting in others.  We don’t know if the counts took place while some were away on holidays or if some were tabulated multiple times because they kind of looked the same.

So in the grand scheme of things, according to this story, 180,000 global deaths have been linked to sugary drinks.   I didn’t even know that there was a box to be ticked in this category in the cause of death certificate for this.  So let’s see, 180,000 out of 7,000,000,000… it borders on epidemic!   According to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization, the top mortality rates worldwide in the year 2011 are shown by the following table:

It’s possible that death by sugary drinks is included under the penultimate category, Diabetes mellitus, but based on the description of that statistic, I doubt it.    More interesting to note is that road traffic accidents are a much greater scourge than drinking a big gulp.   When a statistic is offered on mortality, the initial response is ” well we must do something about this tragic circumstance” until that statistic is more closely scrutinized.  If there was a category for sugary drink death, it may reside way down the list at about 12,625th. This headline purports to show that 180,000 world deaths are linked to sugary drinks.  If this isn’t telethon material, it should be.

It could be that the zealots have surveyed the list of the major causes of death and determined that all of the big ones have been taken; heart disease, cancer, AIDS etc etc.  All that was left over was sugary drinks.  It’s a bigger push to get sympathy for this one since pictures of zaftig people drinking Mountain Dew on a hot day doesn’t play to the sympathy crowd as well as a mal-nourished baby, a bed-ridden tuberculosis patient or the most recent high profile AIDS victim.  But, to paraphrase Dr. Seuss, a crisis is a crisis no matter how small.

We expect to see the usual bureaucratic path for this particular crisis.  A ban, which won’t work, because people who want them will get them; restrictions on access which will drive up the price of the product; to perhaps licensing of vendors complete with  a registration list of customers.  None of these campaigns work unless they are funded.  Once someone convinces government to bless the cause, the natural funders will be the very corporations that sell the noxious products, namely, Coca Cola, Pepsi and their like.  To paraphrase a line from the film “Apocalypse Now”, I love the smell of lawsuits in the morning.  Saving the world is such a process.

link New drug being developed using compound found in red wine could help humans live until they are 150 | Mail Online.

On the one hand, this alleged miracle compound is found in red wine, so it’s not a hardship to take unlike a dose of Buckley’s mixture.  In fact, if this story is true, there’s a good chance many of my friends are well on their way to a prolonged life based solely on their normal wine consumption.  On the other hand, why would anyone want to live to be 150?  Unless your body is capable of doing anything beyond clicking the TV controller by then, what’s the point of being 150?

Of course, I can see corporations wanting to cash in on the longer life expectancies by pushing the same old vanity stuff on older consumers.  Face creams and face lifts will be big business.  They can declare that 120 is the new 90 by  showing ads depicting 100 year olds climbing hiking trails with their walkers.  Think about the type of Viagra commercials that will run.  Hugh Hefner will be dating 23 year olds…..again.  At the other end of the consumer market,  an announcement that Depends are 20 percent off at Costco will cause stampedes.

There are other more pragmatic consequences as well.  How do people sustain themselves financially since most target 65 as a retirement age?  You’d have to accumulate a lot of money to live another lifetime with whatever you’ve managed to save.  If people live longer, then perhaps people will have to work longer too.  If you think service is slow now at government offices, wait until you are being served by a  clerk pushing a hundred.

Nobody wants to die prematurely, but in nature, all things have an expiry date.  Things just naturally wear out and all warranties end.  Just because science enables amazing feats of longevity, should that capability be exercised?   Recently, there was an article in which some scientists claimed to be able to revive an extinct species. Why? Presumably, it went extinct for a reason.  People should take it as a matter of fate that when a species fails to survive, there is likely a darn good reason why that happened.  Usually, it boils down to two things.  The species either ran out of things to eat, or itself was so good to eat, that other species finished them off.  Either way, it seems to be Nature’s way of purging the herd.  Even if it were possible to resurrect a Tyrannosaurus Rex, of what use is that?  Then there’s that whole matter of  the time/space continuum being upset or something to that effect.

There are those that believe that life and death both deserve to run their course with a certain sense of dignity and I happen to be one of them.  We are opening up a huge barrel of unforeseen consequences by artificially extending the natural path of life.   We’ll see see bald, wrinkly men who will sport pony tails in order to capture their coolness.  Tattoos that seemed like a good idea during the impetuousness of youth will look like blobs of amorphous mold on leathery skin.   These are things that once seen cannot be unseen.  Let’s spare everyone.