http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/0...mo-evolutis.ars

not sure if i should be scared or intrigued by watching sci-fi become reality, day by day...

In all honestly I fully suspect that within my lifetime we will figure out what it is that causes our bodies to age and figure out a way around it. We'll see a quantum leap in average lifespans (my guess is doubling it) not unlike what we saw with the discovery of antibiotics.

and big pharma will patent into economic insanity...

south-africas fight for cheap aids drugs will be nothing compared to it...

Actually, we already know what causes aging. It's called telomeres. The problem is, the way around it tends to involve getting cancer. So, curing cancer would probably be the biggest step towards ending aging.

Telomeric decay is still a massively controversial specific "cause" of aging.

In my experience the cause of aging is time. I am working on a 10 step program to beat time and therefore live forever. I will share this program with select individuals at the low low cost of 10 payments of $19.99(us dollars only). My program comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you should ever die after following my 10 easy steps, just show up in person at my office and I will not only refund you money, I will throw in 100 shares in Viva Los Luna, a holiday resort I am planning on building on the surface of the moon. However, as there are only so many openings in my program you should act quickly. Do you really want to miss out on eternity?

(gotta pay for that Leonization somehow ya know?)

I think the problem is a little more complex than that, but yes, telomeres have been implicated in aging.
And yes you're right, curing cancer could probably give us some insight, but I don't know that that's all there is to it.