By Dan Perry

It may be humankind's oldest dream - somehow to cheat the processes of aging and death. We've seen it play out time and time again as people have sought advice, even solace from various sources, many of them shamans, sorcerers and patent-medicine charlatans.

Of course nothing changed.

But real progress on the aging front is finally within sight. That's because of the new field of gero-tech, biotechnology being pursued by an exciting group of U.S. companies that have formed in recent years for this sole purpose: to develop new therapeutic drugs by understanding the biology of human aging.

The Alliance for Aging Research is tracking what you can expect soon from gero-technology. After studying more than one thousand companies recently, it selected more than two dozen that are working closely to turn back the clock on aging. Our special report profiling the first of the gero-techs, The Dawn Of Gero-Technology Pioneers In Aging And Regenerative Medicine, has just been released. It is the best road map for finding your way to the fountain, or fountains, of youth. If these companies and newer ones still to come actually succeed, many age-related disabilities and diseases, their attendant suffering and costs, will surely be less of a threat to people as they age.

We are taking our report to Capitol Hill. We are urging the Congress to support emerging medical technologies that will vastly improve the quality of life for people as they age. And if government can't help, it can at least get out of the way of the dynamic private sector.

Meanwhile, 10,000 Baby Boomers in the U.S celebrate a 50th birthday every day. There are many of us who are eagerly awaiting good news from the laboratories of the world that the infirmities of aging will be less a threat in this fresh new century.

The gero-techs--and the Alliance--are working hard to make sure that the news reaches you sooner rather than later.