Is biological immortality possible?

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Biological immortality is theoretically possible. Much of the aging process is rooted in genes. If those processes are altered so DNA is always maintained, then an organism could biologically function indefinitely.

Physical immortality on the other hand... well there will always be a chance you will get killed by murder, disease or some other accident. Can't change that.

What to while immortal? I'd say keep learning, exploring the world. You'd only mad if you stayed in the same place and did the same thing forever. Live long enough and maybe even got to explore space. I don't think it would be so bad a deal as some make it out to be.

Great! OF course there's no way I'd expect a stable relationship for, oh, even a hundred years - we can both agree on this. But I know that you'll always be there if I need you, and visa versa! Our patience may wear down, but our hearts will never run away!

(How could you? I put a tracker in you, my bestest friend....)

In principle, yes, as proven by the fact that children are young. They don't get born at the same biological age as the parents. It follows that in the germ line, age can be reset to 0. If that is possible in germ cells, it should be possible in somatic cells.

I don't think actual immortality is truly possible, but what I'm thinking about is that when cloning becomes perfect enough that a person can be cloned with no actual errors, and also if there is a way to "download" a person's mind into another brain, then we could effectively live forever... Also it would give us new bodies each time around, so it would allow someone who was a smoker to cast off that addiction on the next cycle if they wanted to (since the physiological addiction is not genetic)

As for my beliefs, I don't particularly like the concept of immortality for reasons stated above, but I wouldn't mind being able to have a 1,000 year lifespan...

Here is a question. Lets say biological immortality is possible. it certainly is for certain plants and perhaps minuscule multicellular critters.

Wouldnt the odds be that you'd eventually be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and get killed, perhaps in war, disaster or accident? And what of your various appendages?

To the former question: Yes, your probability of dying over a period of time will approach one the longer you live. In essence, true immortality is impossible (unless you were able to eliminate being killed by other causes). It's not true immortality, but rather, indefinite lifespan (which is what the elves in LOTR had)
For more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indefinite_lifespan

To the latter: If we can regenerate and/or replace the actual body (which we would assuming the indefinite lifespan is in place), we should also be able to do so with lost limbs...

Yes and no, we could make a person live forever, but they would have to be under near constant surgery after the age of 30. And after about 125 years the brain would be badly damaged, even if we replace the cells the person will never be the same in the head. As such memories and thought proseses will stop, so yes and no, a person can live for ever.

Research telomere restoration, and you may come to the conclusion that in theory, an indefinite lifespan and a reversal of the aging process can be done.

In practice, we have quite a ways to go.

That's how the Zerg made Sarah Kerrigan immortal. Are we, uh, absolutely SURE that we want our scientific future playing out like Starcraft?

The hell with it, I don't care! MY LIFE FOR AIUR!!

Cancer cells are immortal (theoretically). But cancer itself is not an entity, it's only a part of one.
People age because DNA shrinks every time it divides. Cancer cells somehow keep their DNA from shrinking, so if this could be applied to other cells, then it's theoretically possible.

dangit Zee...I was gonna say that...

great...I can be middle-aged for centuries...

I think it will eventually be possible...just not now.

Sure you were. One thing I wonder is if the brain is eternal. There are only a set number of neurons that we are able to use, and once all these nerves have been "wired", would we still be capable of original thought? Or would we be like robots, IE everything is programmed and there's no room left to add stuff? (I hope I'm making sense).

Now THAT is an interesting question.

You dont have to go running around like a zealot, you know...

Actually, that spawned a new idea on my part... what if we ended up encased in huge cybernetic robots like the dragoons?

Thanks... sometimes I surprise myself.