Mashable — March 17, 2014 | Rebecca Hiscott

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Popularized by researchers like gerontologist Aubrey de Grey and futurist Ray Kurzweil — who predicts a machine will be able to pass the Turing test by the year 2029 — the doctrine of transhumanism holds that humans can transcend their physical limitations using technology.

Central to this philosophy is the belief that technology will eventually be able to extend human life spans by hundreds of years, or perhaps indefinitely.