Along the lines of self-driving cars and smart glasses, Google's newest venture promises to wow the tech scene. Only, it's not quite tech, at least in the traditional sense. The venture is called California Life Company, or Calico for short, and its goal is to extend human life by 20 to 100 years.
It sounds surreal, until consider that we already extended human life by 20 years over the past century. The average girl born today will live to be 100, a once outlying achievement.
Other research outlets have made relevant discoveries over the years, including worms that divide stem cells without aging and that resveratrol, found in red wine, seems to defend against diseases related to aging and could be manufactured as a more potent synthetic drug.
Meanwhile, companies such as Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Sirtris Pharma and Halcyon Molecular set out to extend human life, only to shut down (or be acquired, then shuttered by the buyer), many times running out of money before bringing a product to market.
Don't be quick to assume Google's involvement is strictly to benefit the common good, however. CEO Larry Page is pushing to spend on long term rather than incremental R&D. There's money to be made here. The regenerative medicine industry is valued at $1.6 billion, and anti-aging products are virtually resistant to economic cycles. Therapies available today may be expensive, untrustworthy and could produce horrific results.
But one thing is true: The quest to live just a bit longer is in demand.
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