Philosophy Wire: Knowing when you Die. Not so important.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2012-11-21]: Researchers at the University of East Anglia have found that biological age and life expectancy can be predicted by measuring an individual's DNA. They studied the length of chromosome caps - known as 'telomeres' - in a 320-strong wild population of Seychelles Warblers on a small isolated island. Published today in Molecular Ecology, their research shows that individuals differ radically in how quickly their telomeres shorten with age, and that having shorter telomeres at any age is associated with an increased risk of death. Telomere length is a better indicator of future life-expectancy than actual age and may, therefore, be an indicator of biological age. [source: 1, 2] It is because we have solved the problem of what life and death is, that our only problem now is the When we will die. And I do not even have to mention that this analysis forgets one simple truth: from the moment you know the day of your death, you automatically change reality and, thus, your day of death… But in any case, Much Ado About Nothing if you ask me.

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