Date: 02-11-13
Host: George Noory
Guests: Aubrey de Grey, Cris Putnam
In the first half, biblical prophecy expert Cris Putnam talked about the resignation of Pope Benedict in relation to St. Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes. In the 12th century, the Irish seer, St. Malachy, had a vision of who each Pope would be, and made a list of 112 names, ending with a final Pope named Petrus Romans (or Peter the Roman). Since the resigning Benedict is the 111th Pope, the next one could be the one Malachy prophesied about, saying he would deal with many tribulations, including the destruction of Rome. Whether or not the next Pope is actually named Peter may not be relevant because "every Pope has...a claim to the chair of St. Peter; just the fact that you get elected to be Pope kind of puts you as the Peter in charge at that time, so it could just be an oblique reference to an Italian Pope," he explained. Though, there are a few candidates high on the list who do have the name of Peter, he added.
Putnam found it interesting that Malachy's vision of tribulations and the destruction of Rome seem to correlate to the Book of Revelation, chapter 17, which refers to a "great harlot that sits on many waters" that has been interpreted as the Roman church gone apostate (abandoning its faith). Additionally, there's a prophecy from the ancient Book of Zohar that predicts a meteor shower hailing down on Rome in the Jewish year 5773, which corresponds to the 2012-2013 period, he noted. Putnam also shared a quatrain from Nostradamus that could be interpreted to mean that a young black Cardinal will seize the papacy.
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In the latter half, biomedical gerontologist Dr. Aubrey de Grey discussed the amazing discoveries in biological technology, including how stem cell therapy and nanotechnology could be used to not only treat diseases but to halt aging, and actually repair damaged tissues. "In the relatively near future, there's a good chance that technology will make things accelerate a great deal; that we'll develop medicines that will truly postpone ill health and old age and allow us to live in a true, youthful state far longer than we do today," he declared. Ultimately, the way to keep people healthy or restore their health will be arrived at through a complex set of therapies, including genetic and stem cell treatments, as well as conventional approaches such as vaccinations and pharmaceuticals, he detailed.
Treatments will have to be done periodically to maintain health, but de Grey foresees a time, possibly within the next 25 years, when there could be a genuine rejuvenation, repairing the accumulated damage of aging, and making someone biologically much younger than when they began the therapy. This will be a gradual revolution, he continued, with people initially undergoing surgeries to replace organs, until eventually such invasive approaches will be replaced by injections or oral administrations. Viewing these approaches as "preventative medicine," de Grey believes they'll eventually be made available to all, as there will be great savings from not having to treat the sick and elderly. Yet, "at the moment, there is certainly not nearly enough money being invested in this work; I think it could probably go three or four times faster, if it were appropriately funded," he commented.
