This article contains an interesting review of a new philosophical work centred mainly around the SENS effort.

I have not had a chance to read the book yet, but the descriptions of its content give me mixed feelings.

Firstly, it seems fairly well researched. The description of the SENS strategy in the book, which made its way into the reviews (e.g. the stuff about removing cellular garbage), suggests that the author is under no illusions about what the SENS approach is.

On the other hand, I expect that the book might fail to break the habit, common in the media, of waxing philosophical about the ethics of life-extension, which in my opinion is a philosophical red herring. 

Without doubt, mental efforts would need to be directed at managing the consequences of mankind’s increased capacity to rejuvenate itself medically, but the mention of “complicated moral questions”, feels wearily familiar. It seems to foreshadow one of those tiresome debates about whether we ought to extend healthy human life.

The book also contains talk of ‘immortalists’, a quaint character-study of Aubrey de Grey, giving the whole thing an ivory tower feel, detached from the quite ordinary healthcare ethics that motivate those behind the project.  

And it is a great shame that there does not exist any equal and opposite version of books such these, written from such an ethical angle.
 

Proceed to the article at Istockanalyst (from Kansas City Star).