“Billionaires Weigh in on Whether Tech Can Make Death Optional”
In a luxurious Los Angeles living room, filled with billionaires, scientists, and celebrities, a bold idea echoed: Could death become a thing of the past? This wasn’t just idle chatter — it was the kickoff for a $25 million initiative by the National Academy of Medicine to explore breakthroughs in healthy aging.
The attendees, from Nobel Prize-winning scientists to Hollywood stars, were united by a shared desire: to live longer, healthier lives. When asked if they’d want to live to 200 (assuming perfect health), nearly every hand shot up.
Cracking the Code of Aging
Joon Yun, a doctor and hedge-fund manager, likened aging to a solvable puzzle. “If aging is encoded in our DNA, then we can crack the code and hack it,” he proclaimed. His optimism stems from groundbreaking research, such as sharing young blood with older mice to rejuvenate their bodies.
Other scientists in the room are studying ways to tweak genes, grow new organs from DNA, or extend “healthspan” rather than just lifespan. The idea isn’t just living longer but living well — without the diseases and frailty that aging often brings.
Can We Beat the Odds?
Efforts to extend life aren’t new. Decades of research have yielded exciting results, such as worms whose lifespans were increased tenfold and mice that lived twice as long. But the more scientists delve into the mechanics of aging, the more complex it seems.
Gordon Lithgow, a leading researcher, admits, “At first, we thought it would be simple. But aging is connected to thousands of genes — it’s far more intricate than we imagined.”
Even so, the success stories in nature inspire hope: queen bees that live far longer than worker bees, sharks that thrive for centuries, and clams that survive over 500 years.
What’s Next?
The quest to “make death optional” is more than just science fiction. It’s a mission driven by a mix of human ambition, cutting-edge technology, and billions of dollars.
Norman Lear, a 94-year-old TV legend at the event, summed it up best: “Death may not be optional just yet, but for now, it may have to wait.”
The Challenge of Aging
For decades, scientists thought the secret to stopping aging was close. In the 1990s, research on a tiny worm, C. elegans, showed that mutating a single gene could extend its life. This sparked excitement, as researchers increased the worm’s lifespan tenfold and doubled that of lab mice. The idea of controlling aging turned into headlines like “Forever Young” and promises of living past 140.
But reality is more complex. Gordon Lithgow, a C. elegans expert, explained, “We thought it would be simple — a clock! But now we’ve found hundreds of genes involved, and likely thousands.” And that’s for a worm with just 959 cells.
For larger animals, the puzzle is even harder. Bee larvae fed royal jelly become ageless queens. Greenland sharks live for 500 years without cancer. Even a humble quahog clam can survive over 500 years.
The dream of defeating aging is still alive, but the path is much harder than scientists once thought.
The Complex Puzzle of Aging
Aging feels like everything breaking down at once — our mitochondria weaken, DNA becomes damaged, hormones drop, and our bodies gradually lose function. Vision, hearing, strength, and mental clarity fade, arteries clog, and eventually, systems fail. Though scientists have made progress, every promising discovery seems to reveal new challenges.
One exciting theory was about telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, similar to plastic tips on shoelaces. Shorter telomeres are linked to aging, so scientists thought extending them might reverse the process. But there’s a catch: the enzyme that lengthens telomeres, telomerase, is also active in most cancer cells. Long telomeres don’t necessarily mean long life, and the more we study, the more complicated it seems.
Still, researchers persist, often using metaphors to guide their work. Aubrey de Grey, a scientist at the SENS Research Foundation, compares the body to a car. A mechanic doesn’t need to fully understand combustion physics to fix an engine, and restored vintage cars can run like new. Similarly, de Grey believes we can fix the body’s damage piece by piece.
He argues aging has no single cause — everything is interconnected and fails together. His plan? Divide and conquer: restore tissue flexibility, replace malfunctioning cells, clear out toxic ones, repair DNA damage, and clean up harmful by-products. De Grey believes that solving these problems could add 30 healthy years to our lives. During that time, further advancements could even reverse aging entirely, achieving what he calls “longevity escape velocity.”
Aubrey de Grey’s bold ideas about defeating aging often sound like science fiction. In his 2007 book, Ending Aging, he proposed solutions like moving backup copies of mitochondrial DNA into the cell nucleus to prevent mutations — a process evolution never perfected because proteins from the nucleus can get tangled en route to the mitochondria. Critics admire his creativity but question the feasibility of tackling all seven biological challenges he identifies. One biogerontologist compared it to planning interstellar travel by saying, “All you need to do is accelerate to three-quarters of the speed of light.”
Most longevity scientists are “healthspanners,” not immortality seekers. Their goal is to extend healthy living and ensure a quick, painless death, avoiding prolonged suffering from diseases like cancer, heart disease, and dementia, which dominate later life. While curing cancer or heart disease could add only 3–4 years to the average lifespan, slowing the aging process itself could help us live into our nineties or beyond.
However, healthspanners don’t believe in living forever and warn of ethical and practical concerns. Extended lifespans could strain natural resources, extend oppressive regimes, stifle new ideas from younger generations, and lead to boredom.
Harvard researcher Amy Wagers put it simply: “Part of the meaning of life is that we die.” Even mythology warns against chasing immortality — stories like Tithonus, who gained eternal life without eternal youth and ended up decrepit and miserable, serve as cautionary tales.
Unity Biotechnology and Anti-Aging Research
Ned David, co-founder of Unity Biotechnology, is a 49-year-old biochemist who looks much younger thanks to his active lifestyle and use of therapies like metformin (a diabetes drug linked to longevity) and Retin-A for skin health. Unity focuses on targeting “senescent cells,” which release harmful substances (dubbed “zombie toxins”) that cause inflammation and accelerate aging. In mice, Unity’s treatments have shown promising results, delaying cancer, preventing heart problems, and increasing life span by 35%.
Despite this progress, Unity’s drugs are still years away from being available. To align with current medical and financial systems, Unity is targeting specific age-related diseases like arthritis and glaucoma instead of treating aging as a whole. This approach helps navigate regulatory hurdles since aging isn’t officially recognized as a treatable condition by organizations like the FDA.
Silicon Valley and the Quest to “Solve Death”
Tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel are heavily investing in longevity research, seeing it as a massive opportunity. Startups and venture funds like the Longevity Fund are also gaining traction, driven by younger founders who view curing aging as a feasible scientific challenge.
The shift in focus began when Google’s Bill Maris, inspired by personal loss and the desire to combat aging, pitched the idea of building a company to “solve death.” This led to the launch of Calico (California Life Company) in 2013 with $1 billion in funding. Calico has remained secretive, focusing on tracking biomarkers of aging and studying animals like naked mole rats that live unusually long lives.
Although progress is being made, challenges remain. Clinical trials for aging take decades, and it’s difficult to determine which aspects of aging are causes versus effects. Nevertheless, the field is evolving, fueled by significant funding and growing interest from both startups and tech giants.
Blood and Rejuvenation of Aging Cells
Former Google Ventures founder Bill Maris strongly disagrees with the idea that Silicon Valley billionaires are seeking immortality through young people’s blood. He insists the goal is a future where no one dies from preventable diseases, creating a fairer world for all.
Maris’ vision echoes a centuries-old desire to slow aging, which dates back to 1615, when a German doctor suggested that young blood could rejuvenate the old. This idea led to experiments such as those in the 1920s by Bolshevik doctor Alexander Bogdanov, who, despite claiming youthfulness after transfusions, eventually died from complications. Over the years, attempts to rejuvenate using blood exchange have met with mixed results, ranging from grisly failures to promising discoveries.
In 2005, a breakthrough came when Stanford researcher Tom Rando demonstrated that older mice rejuvenated when blood was exchanged with younger ones. This sparked interest among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on the possibility of reversing aging. However, Rando cautions that biological progress is slower than the tech industry’s rapid pace, which may lead to disappointment for those expecting quick results.
Despite growing interest in the field, there remains significant debate over what actually rejuvenates aging cells. Is it young-blood proteins or the elimination of harmful substances like SASP (Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype)? In 2014, a Harvard study suggested a protein called GDF11 from young blood could renew old mice, but subsequent studies have contradicted these findings, indicating that blocking GDF11 might be more beneficial.
A company, Alkahest, is now investigating whether specific proteins in young blood could help treat Alzheimer’s. In a recent experiment, mice treated with plasma from 18-year-olds performed much better on memory tasks compared to their untreated counterparts, showcasing the potential of young blood to boost cognitive function. However, the quest for understanding and applying these findings to human aging is still in its early stages.
Reprogramming Stem Cells
In the ongoing quest to combat aging, biologist Juan Carlos Belmonte has been pushing the boundaries of what’s possible by borrowing mechanisms from embryonic development and applying them to adult cells. His research focuses on reprogramming cells to restore them to a more youthful state without reverting them to their original stem-cell form, which could halt essential bodily functions.
While his experiments have yielded promising results, Belmonte acknowledges the unpredictable side effects and challenges of this approach.
He likens the process of modifying cells’ “software” to improving a program — while it’s less risky than altering the “hardware,” there will always be room for improvement. He downplays the notion of using this technology to extend life indefinitely, instead emphasizing the goal of improving bodily function: “If you improve all the cells in your body, as an indirect consequence you will live longer,” he says with a chuckle.
Building on Belmonte’s work, entrepreneur Ned David has been working with him to explore ways to measure and control the rejuvenation of cells. They’re testing if they can create markers to indicate when cells are rejuvenated or disturbed, and exploring methods like activating telomerase to refresh the epigenome.
However, despite the exciting potential, David remains cautious, noting that while they can reverse some tissue aging, a perfect, controlled method to do so is still elusive. There’s also the looming risk of cancer, as stem cell rejuvenation involves cell division, which can lead to harmful mutations.
The complexity of aging goes beyond simple cause and effect. Tom Rando of Stanford University likens the body’s aging process to a network of feedback loops, where interventions in one area can destabilize others. Aging isn’t just about biological wear and tear; it’s a complex, interconnected system of signals and responses that gradually becomes less stable over time.
For now, the most effective ways to extend life are the straightforward, low-tech methods we’re already familiar with: quitting smoking, wearing seatbelts, exercising, and maintaining a healthy diet.
Researcher Pankaj Kapahi at the Buck Institute demonstrated how diet and exercise can dramatically improve the health and lifespan of fruit flies, with those on a “Spartan” diet (lower in calories) far outliving their counterparts fed a “burger” diet. The link between caloric restriction, exercise, and longevity lies in dampening the mTOR signaling pathway, which regulates metabolism and cellular repair. This pathway responds to stress by promoting cellular repair and increasing resistance to damage, a survival mechanism developed in response to famine.
While caloric restriction has shown promise, it’s difficult to implement consistently, and its effects come with drawbacks. One alternative being researched is intermittent fasting, which may provide the benefits of caloric restriction without the discomfort of constant hunger. However, scientists are also working on developing drugs to target mTOR and extend life without the need for such drastic measures.
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Meet Lourdes Duque Baron — a woman of many talents: author, actress, singer, and film producer. Beyond her creative achievements, Lourdes has emerged as a passionate advocate for stem cell therapy, inspired by her own life-changing experience.
Lourdes’ journey into regenerative medicine began with her battle against osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones. Conventional treatments offered limited relief, but mesenchymal stem cell therapy gave her a new lease on life. This cutting-edge treatment works by harnessing the body’s natural ability to repair and regenerate damaged tissues, addressing the root cause rather than just managing symptoms.
For Lourdes, the results were remarkable. She didn’t just overcome osteoporosis — she regained her strength, vitality, and zest for life. Thanks to stem cell therapy, she continues to lead an active lifestyle and pursue her creative passions, proving that healing at the cellular level can truly transform lives.
Conclusion:
In the pursuit of redefining the limits of life and health, the intersection of science, technology, and ambition continues to captivate the human imagination. From groundbreaking experiments in cellular rejuvenation to the tantalizing promise of extending life, innovators and researchers push forward despite the inherent complexities and risks. Billionaires, scientists, and visionaries alike are investing in these revolutionary possibilities, not just to cheat death but to improve the quality of life itself.
Yet, this quest underscores a profound truth: the process of living is intricately tied to the process of dying. As we manipulate the building blocks of biology and harness the power of regenerative medicine, the ethical, social, and biological consequences remain as daunting as the opportunities are exhilarating. Whether death can ever truly become “optional” remains unanswered, but one thing is clear — this journey to unravel the mysteries of aging is as much about understanding life as it is about transcending its boundaries.
Source Credits:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/silicon-valleys-quest-to-live-forever