"Without your health, you've got nothing." This may be an overused adage, but we all know that it is true. The older we get, the more that the reality of our mortality sets in. It defines our outlook on life, and the level of risk we take. Yet living longer is not enough. Few would wish to extend their life by ten years if it meant being hooked to a machine in a vegetative state. Like Ponce de Leon, what we all seek is eternal youth.

Recent scientific breakthroughs indicate that human beings are programmed to die. Our DNA may in fact determine the date and time of our death, absent outside interference. And as science learns how to manipulate the genetic code, it is quite possible, even likely, that this genetic death clock can be stopped, leading to a realization of Senior Leon's dream.