Submitted by Phoenix5869 t3_yndodv in singularity
ChoosenUserName4 t1_iv9d4nq wrote
Reply to comment by gahblahblah in Becoming increasingly pessimistic about LEV + curing aging by Phoenix5869
A computer program that predicts protein structure a little bit better and faster than the stuff we were using 25 years ago, isn't going to change medicine in a meaningful way without changes in which animal experiments, clinical trials, and FDA approvals are done and financed.
SgathTriallair t1_iv9et2l wrote
A) not a little faster, mind bogglingly faster. It is going from months to hours.
B) by understanding how the proteins fold we can run simulations on the computer to find the most likely candidates for love testing. This could knock off years or even decades of trial and error.
ChoosenUserName4 t1_iv9yre5 wrote
Please enlighten me on what the next steps are to get from a faster, a little bit more accurate simulation (protein fold prediction has been around for 30 years or more) to immortality. Tell me what has changed that is going to make it so much faster to get drugs tested and approved than it used to be.
The wishful thinking in this sub borders on delusion.
SgathTriallair t1_ivaueme wrote
I told you how the drug testing will improve. Since so much testing is based on trial and error, we can model much of that trial and error so that we only do animal and human tests in drugs we think are likely to work.
As our models improve we will eventually be able to skip animal and maybe even human trials. Those are both flawed systems do it is possible to create a new system which is more reliable.
The next stage that medical researchers have been talking about is custom drugs. We will assess an individual's biochemistry and then tailor drugs to them rather than assume that all humans are exactly the same (current method).
How does this all lead to immorality? Fuck if I know. I'm not a medical researcher. That is part of what makes science exciting. The future is the last great unexplored country. No one knows what the twists and turns of gate will bring us. No one can predict what the next break through will be. What we can say with certainty is that we haven't reached the end of the journey.
I'm sorry you hate this sub. It can feel terrible if you or a loved one are staring down the barrel of death and all we offer is "here are some cool things that might happen". If you joined up to find the secret to immorality, then you came to the wrong place. At the moment, achieving immorality remains the domain of snake oil salesmen. But just because something was impossible yesterday doesn't mean it will be impossible tomorrow. Sure maybe everyone reading this will die before the breakthrough happens. That just makes us like everyone else that ever lived, we aren't being extra punished. On the other hand it is possible that everyone under the age of 50 has the chance (by no means the certainty) to cross the threshold of aging.
Note, even in this wonderful future death is still likely. Trauma, disease, and suicide will all exist. There will almost certainly not be someone who lives forever, there are too many freak occurrences in the world. But just because you won't make it doesn't mean you stop trying.
gahblahblah t1_iv9mcnq wrote
A quote from my link "An AlphaFold prediction helped to determine the structure of a bacterial protein that Lupas’s lab has been trying to crack for years."
The tools is already being helpful - but you don't seem to think this counts as meaningful progress because 'more work is needed'.
Your definition for progress would make you blind to the majority of progress. Improved tools are progress, and this tool is helpful right now, and it is not a small benefit, no. You may be ignorant of the benefits, but this doesn't mean they don't exist
ChoosenUserName4 t1_iv9xxz2 wrote
Read my comment. Going from a computer prediction to something that will prolong your life, isn't something that scales exponentially. All I said is that we had pretty accurate computer predictions decades ago, and look where that got us. Yes, it's helpful, yes it's better, but it's not game changing when it comes to immortality, and there isn't a clear next exponential step.
The wishful thinking in this sub borders on religion. I am going to unsubscribe since I had enough of this bullshit here.
gahblahblah t1_ivcejoe wrote
I have provided direct evidence for my views. You could try r/longevity. It is a science based sub - although you may find that they disagree with you there too. Bye bye.
ChoosenUserName4 t1_ive0fd7 wrote
Too many fanbois on this sub. You have provided no evidence at all, you haven't got a clue what you're talking about. Keep hoping, keep wishing. I'm done debating 14 year olds.
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