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There is a very energetic movement under way to extend human life. Medical science is doing its part, as life expectancy keeps being extended year by year. Presently, the life expectancy for men is 78 years and for women, 82.7. Of course, there is some difference between these numbers and living forever, but researchers know a growth industry when they see one.

As regards the ageing population, books detailing exercises for body and mind, not to mention nutritional supplements, are now much with us. Books that describe recent brain research are particularly plentiful. There are some encouraging research results being reported. Our brains are apparently much more adaptable and subject to being re-tooled than was believed in the past. Some patients are recovering from strokes and brain injuries, when it was previously believed that brain injuries were permanent. One such book presently on the best sellers list is The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge.

Making music is also recommended by researchers as another way to extend life. The psychological and spiritual benefits of singing and listening to music are being recognized. Music therapists are being added to the staffs in rehabilitation facilities to utilize these approaches. Recent research concentrates on the effects of music on the brain. Best sellers such as This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin, and Oliver Sack's latest book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, give information in this area.

A research project is just being set up at the University of Prince Edward Island. One of its areas of enquiry will be study into the enhancement of health and well-being through singing. Stroke and dementia patients benefit from breathing exercises, and singing encourages this type of exercise. Choirs have been formed with dementia patients to utilize this benefit.

Then, there is the life extending effect of having a sense of purpose. Researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that older people who have a purpose in life, those who are goal directed and have an overall sense that life is meaningful, have a reduced risk of dying earlier. Working as a volunteer or as a caregiver for a loved one has been shown to extend the life of a senior. Whatever contributes to a meaningful life is good for your health.

Recently, a rather startling claim was made by Ray Kurzweil, an American scientist, who has just announced that humans could become immortal in about 20 years time. He pins his hopes on research on the human body and on nanotechnology. Spare parts are already being used to replace worn-out body parts.

Mr. Kurzweil is quoted as saying, "I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogram our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse ageing. Then nanotechnology will let us live forever."

Nanotechnology is the study of very small, artificially produced materials. Such materials are made by arranging metals and other compounds at the level of the atom in unique way, often into spheres or rods. They are added to substances in order to increase the strength, conductivity or durability of the original substance. Nanomaterials range in size from 1 to 100 nanometres. One nanometre equals a billionth of a metre, and it would take about 100,000 particles the size of one nanometre to equal the diameter of a human hair.

These materials are being added to consumer products, such as cosmetics, personal care products and cleaning agents. At the moment, more than 500 consumer items incorporate nanomaterials. One estimate is that about $1 trillion worth of products incorporating nanomaterials will be on the market by 2015. There are also plans to add these substances to food.

Environmentalist insist that products containing nanomaterial should be labelled and listed in a central registry. They also want adding nanomaterials to food to be banned.

The concern is that such materials could get loose when the products that contain them break down. They may have the same effect as carcinogens in asbestos, or the particulates in our air.

A desire to live forever, or at least for a longer period of time, has occupied philosophers for hundreds of years. I put my faith in making music and helping people out. I'm just a little uncomfortable about those tiny particles. Take care.

Jo-Ann Fellows is a writer living in Fredericton. Her columns on seniors' concerns and on public policy issues appear twice a month on Mondays.