Bio-Tech: Lifespan and Self-Repair Modifications
Lifespan and Self-Repair Modifications
A person's overall health may be increased by a spectrum of genetic changes, such as eliminating genetic defects and hereditary tendencies toward degenerative illness.
The search for longevity is likely to be a major preoccupation of eugeneering. "Dying of old age" seems to result from numerous factors, each of which must be dealt with separately: arterial clogging, the buildup of free radicals, weakening bones, cancers, diseases, accumulated genetic copying errors, and even the depredations of brain-destroying prions. Any genemod that treats even a few of these factors may increase lifespan.
For example, one major cause of aging might be the damage caused by free radicals, the toxic byproducts of the body's metabolic activity. Genetic engineering aimed at countering this may increase the production of the body's natural antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). This alone could be enough to increase a human lifespan by 10 to 50%.
Another aging theory suggests that some cells seem to accumulate copying errors after a certain number of replications (the Hayflick limit). If that's the case, a "revised Hayflick limit" genetic sequence, designed to produce more robust cells, might be needed in order to grant Extended Lifespan or, ultimately, Unaging.
Regeneration is trickier. Gene sequences copied from lizards (which can often regenerate tails or other extremities) may give humans a similar ability. True immortality may require radical alterations to cell structure, or a colony of symbiotic bio-nanomachines that patrol the body.
Immune system modifications and liver and kidney modifications are closely related to lifespan and self-repair modifications – someone who is immune to toxins and disease is likely to live longer, for example, so these advantages often combine with self-repair and longevity modifications to provide Resistant to Metabolic Hazards. This is especially likely for anyone who also has Unaging.
Slave races may have Self-Destruct modifications to the endocrine system or built in "suicide clocks" in cells that cause rapid degeneration when they reach their aging threshold, to ensure demand for new product via planned obsolescence. A shortened lifespan might be popular for non-sterile slave races, if it allows rapid maturation.
Lifespan and Self-Repair Modifications
| Trait | Cost | TL |
|---|---|---|
| Extended Lifespan 1-2 | 2/level | 10* |
| Extended Lifespan 3 | 6 | 11* |
| Extended Lifespan 4 | 8 | 12* |
| HT+1 | 10 | 9 |
| HT+2 | 20 | 10 |
| HT+3 | 30 | 11* |
| HT+4 | 40 | 12* |
| Longevity | 2 | 9 |
| Radiation Tolerance 2 | 5 | 9* |
| Radiation Tolerance 5 | 10 | 10* |
| Radiation Tolerance 10 | 15 | 10/11** |
| Radiation Tolerance 20 20 | 11/12** | |
| Rapid Healing | 5 | 9 |
| Regeneration (Slow) | 10 | 10/11†* |
| Regeneration (Regular) | 25 | 11/12†* |
| Regrowth 40 | 10* | |
| Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (+3) | 10 | 10/12** |
| Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (+8) | 15 | 11/12** |
| Self-Destruct | -10 | 9* |
| Short Lifespan | -10/level | 10* |
| Unaging | 15 | 11* |
| Very Rapid Healing | 15 | 10 |
* Species modification.
† The modifiers Heals Radiation (+40%) and Radiation Only (-60%) are also available; the "Only" version reduces the TL to TL10 for Slow or TL11 for Regular.