Tonight’s Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman looks at the exciting subject of reversing Alzheimer’s disease and the magic of stem cells.
The episode, titled Can We Cheat Death?, sees Freeman looks at how we can unlock the secrets of certain cells to repair our aging minds and bodies.
In it he openly discusses the certainty that awaits everyone. But research into stem cells shows that age-related damage reversal can happen.
Watch our exclusive clip below as Freeman says: “Our bodies have built-in technology to repair themselves.”
The slow decline of our minds is discussed with cell biologist Dr. Larry Goldstein, who shares his own personal journey with the disease, caring for his mother who got it in her 60s.
He says: “50 per cent of us will have developed Alzheimer’s disease by the time we are 85 years old.”
Is human life like a battery, charged and full of energy that eventually, over time, dissipates and becomes unable to process the electrical and chemical functions of a human body, netting disease and decay from the inside out?
What if the degenerative processes could be staved off? Halted? Or even reversed? Tonight Freeman will share some hopeful news.
Stem cells are building blocks that scientists are finding out can be made to reverse all sorts of damage.
In other segments of the episode, Freeman will share how scientists have discovered an immortal animal that may hold the secret of endless regeneration.
There are already scientists planning on transplanting human heads and brains on to other bodies. Is this sane? Wise? Or an exciting breakthrough?
In the future, they may be able to “edit” our DNA structure so that we can cure death like a disease.
But this too is fraught with ethical and challenging issues. Who would want to live longer than the normal span when friends and family may perish and leave one alone?
Is dying the universe’s chaotic and perfect plan for rebirth and continued existence for the survival of our species?
Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Science Channel.