In a report out today, the Pew Research Center offers a fascinating look at Americans' views on aging -- and on, specifically, the practice known as "radical life extension." The majority of American adults, the survey found, don't believe that such life extension capabilities will be generally feasible in the near future: 73 percent of them, asked whether the average person would live to be 120 years old by the year 2050, answered in the negative.

Where Americans place more confidence, it seems, is in the incremental technologies that could contribute to longer life spans. As part of its survey, Pew asked its respondents how optimistic they are about things like artificial limbs and cures for cancer. And the responses they got were fascinating:

Pew Research Center

In (other) words: 71 percent of Americans believe that, by 2050, artificial arms and legs will perform better at being limbs than their natural counterparts; 69 percent believe that there will be a cure for most forms of cancer. The survey respondents were slightly more split when it comes to the most radical life extension of all, the de-extinction of species; 50 percent thought cloning would bring species back to life by 2050, while 48 percent doubted the possibility.