The secular quest for prolonged life is an ongoing enterprise which may one day defeat death. An entire life extension movement full of scientists and innovators take this very seriously arguing that we will reach a time when we achieve longevity escape velocity — when the pace of medical innovation extending the human lifespan outstrips the rate of aging. Presently, more than one year of research is required for each additional year of expected life.
Once a shorter period of research than one year is required for an additional year of expected life, longevity escape velocity will be reached.