240 RüdigerKunow
(Clarke et al., "Theoretical and Substantive Introduction" 6), some of
whicharerelevantalsoforlatelife.
Thisrelatesdirectlytothe"agechillfactor"detailedabove.Fearhas
impelled people of all times and all cultural formations to resort to
measures to postpone or at least weaken the coming of "age." To arrest
that very process would mean that the ancient dream of humanity of
eternal youth, if not eternal life, would at long last come to be realized.
Somegeneticistsareactuallyconvincedthatthiswillindeedbepossible
in some not-too-distant future, for example, by unlocking the secrets of
the much-touted "aging gene." Time will tell if this utopian project will
be realized. In general, my point here is to note that as in public debate
molecular biology is being offered as the high road to "best aging," the
attention is shifting to life-limiting conditions: "Increasingly, the line
betweenmedicalinterventionaimedatrestoringnormalfunctioningand
enhancing existing capacities has blurred.. ." (Heyes 5). To the degree
that "age" is perceived as an obstacle to self-fashioning, biotech
interventionscanserveasmeanstoovercomesuchobstaclespreempting
the onset of deteriorative organic processes. This is not a matter
anymore of "anti-aging" creams, cosmetic surgery,or cochlear implants
but of sophisticated technological procedures of which little is known
outsideacoterieofexperts.
Arrestingthemarchoftimeinordertoachieveanidentitywemight
call "post-age" is so far little more than a promise, however, it already
now animates the speculationsofmany Americans.^77 Tothe degree that
this happens, molecular biology is no longer a more or less arcane
scientificprojectbuthasbecomethoroughlycultural.Itisbeforeallelse
a promise offered by new life enhancement and life extension
practices—among them protein-based treatments such as GDF 11
(developedbyHarvard'sMedicalSchool),genetherapy,stemcellgrafts,
pharmacogenomics, or anthropo-technical devices (e.g. computerized
artificial limbs) that are most intensely debated in the public domain
becausetheyseemtocomeintoreach,notonlytechnologicallybutalso
financially. In fact, they may soon become increasingly available to
(^77) The term "post-age" has been used before, in an incidental manner, among
others,byJulieBeddoes,inherreview"FromPost-AgetoNewAge."Canadian
Literature154(1997):132-34.Print.