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Hello there, Who wants to live forever? It's a profound question asked with gusto by Queen's Freddie Mercury in the band's 1986 hit song. It's a question many of us don't bother considering, because it's simply not possible, right? But, what if it was? Think of those near-endless possibilities ― visiting every country, eating every type of food, having enough time to get through all of those Netflix series you were trying to catch up on. OK, the last one is not important, but it shows the opportunity. The human race has come a long way in terms of life expectancy. The average American born in 1900 had a life expectancy of only 47.3 years. Thanks to modern medicine, in 2022 that figure is now 79. And it's rising. The Dubai Future Forum recently discussed immortality and whether you would, as Freddie Mercury asked, want to live forever? It's a more complicated question than it appears, with modern medicine and mental wellbeing at the forefront of the answer. It's all wonderfully dissected in this long read, which should leave a lasting impression on you. Elsewhere, it's been a messy week for cryptocurrencies, Saudi Arabia's AlUla has entered the metaverse, and Etihad Airways has shown that condensation trails in the sky could be a thing of the past. Have a good week. Ian Oxborrow, Business Audience Growth Editor The Big Story Why there's more to life than making it to a ripe old age
In brief | Medical advances mean reaching 100 will soon become commonplace, but do we really want to? Vast amounts of money are being spent to accelerate science and bring therapies to the market. Quoted | “At an ageing conference I recently attended someone on the podium said the first person to live to 150 had probably been born. We all looked at each other and you could see we were all thinking, ‘I hope it’s not me!’” — Prof Heather Whitson, director of the Centre for the Study of Ageing and Human Development at America’s Duke University Why it matters | Is there a bigger project or goal than prolonging our very existence? While there are all sorts of benefit to having people live to 200, there will be many challenges arising too such as the health care provisions needed for the potentially long-lasting super-elderly.
Pretty patterns | Aircraft vapour trails produced by the exhaust from jet engines may look nice in the sky, but they actually contribute to global warming. However, Etihad Airways will prevent condensation trails on its net-zero emissions flight from Washington Dulles Airport to Abu Dhabi via Sharm El Sheikh that will carry delegates to the Cop27 climate change conference in Egypt. Amphibious aircraft | An electric seaplane was unveiled in Abu Dhabi this week, which will offer more sustainable and affordable travel to coastal areas. The Jekta PHA-ZE 100 can take off and land on both solid ground and water. Advanced air mobility | Air taxis could be coming to the UAE's capital after Abu Dhabi Airports signed an agreement with French airport operator Groupe ADP to look into developing ground infrastructure for them. They are exploring the potential for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to move people and cargo. Predicting the future | Signal or noise? Tourists can now visit Hegra’s Tomb of Lihyan in AlUla, Saudi Arabia in the metaverse. The Unesco World Heritage site has been digitally recreated and rendered in Decentraland, an Ethereum-powered virtual platform. This is a signal | More and more locations are being created in the metaverse, and while the experience may not have quite the same impact as actually being there, not everyone has the means to travel all over the world, and so making it accessible to everyone everywhere is regarded as an important step. In case you missed it
It's been a shaky week for cryptocurrencies as FTX, the crypto exchange, told investors that without a cash injection the company would need to file for bankruptcy. Analysts gave warnings to "expect the unexpected" in the days ahead. Private companies are developing landers and technology to send cargo to the Moon. This allows scientists and engineers to focus on the science objectives during the mission. Last week we showed the latest 3D printed villa in Saudi Arabia. Now we have an altogether different example of how 3D printing can be effectively utilised - for an eye-socket reconstruction. |
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