How many times have you heard people say, "it used to be better before"? I’d say once a week. We have a tendency to think that just because our ancestors lived with less pollution and ate food with less preservatives, their life was better.
In some ways, maybe it was. But there is no doubt that, over time, humans are living longer and with better health well into old age. In fact, scientists have reason to claim that humans can now live up to 150 years!
Join us in this week’s The Global Tiller as we take a look at the latest breakthroughs in longevity research. Have scientists really figured out the key to immortality?
According to a recent finding of the National Institute on Aging, a new cluster of genes has been found that can increase longevity. The findings were made in a population of mice with genetic diversity comparable to humans, leading widespread excitement among the scientists that once they find out how these genes are increasing longevity, they will be one step closer to replicating the same for humans.
Besides this breakthrough, there are multiple levels at which scientists are trying to extend human life. One such study managed to restore vision to a mouse with glaucoma, leading scientists to conclude that old cells in our bodies can be reprogrammed to regain youthful function. A tissue and organ regeneration company, LyGenesis, has shown that it can regrow functioning ectopic organs in a patient’s lymph nodes using cellular therapy, which could have potentially far-reaching consequences for patients waiting for organ donors.
Scientists in Japan have recently developed a vaccine that targets the body’s senescent cells — aging cells that no longer divide but can still cause chronic inflammation and disease as they accumulate in our tissues. By targeting cells in the body associated with aging, they hope to extend both the human lifespan and what they call our 'healthspan': the length of time we’re generally in good health.
Moreover, scientist Dr Greg Fahy has shown for the first time in humans that it may be possible to reverse biological age. In his trial, participants reduced their biological age by two and a half years after one year of treatment, while also showing signs of immune system rejuvenation. Another example is prime editing, a new generation of genome editing, which goes beyond CRISPR and could potentially allow scientists to cure 89% of human diseases.
Another way is how companies, such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink, are trying to develop a brain-computer interface so people could control computers and smartphones with their minds — a game changer for the most common aging diseases, such as dementia and Parkinson’s. However, given the recent disclosures about Tesla malfunctions and the very public Twitter saga, we may need to be very careful with this one.
On the face of it, these scientific discoveries are poised to take human life to a whole new level. But it gets murky when we look at where the investment into longevity is coming from: the billionaires.
The ultra rich are dishing out loads of cash for research that could allow them to enjoy their money for as long as possible. And no, I’m not talking about anti-wrinkle creams and lip fillers although that industry is valued at $60 billion globally and is forecasted to double by 2030.
Just a few weeks ago, the bigwigs gathered at a swanky resort in the Swiss Alps to attend a conference, where longevity researchers and biotech founders wooed them with promises of immortality. Here untested supplements were handed out in gift bags and consumed eagerly by Covid-vaccine deniers. If the likes of Jeff Bezos and the Saudi government were among the investors, it didn’t seem to faze the researchers, who are only too keen to go back to their labs and discover the elixir of life.
For the rest of us, this begs a few questions. If the billionaires are funding longevity research, whose life are we eventually prolonging? Can we trust the motives of investors who impose harsh working conditions on their factory workers or those who kill journalists for disagreeing with them? Even when it comes to the research area, how diverse are these studies and their applications? Are we only developing the science to prolong the life of certain skin colours and genders?
Life expectancy already depends a lot on which part of the world you live and which ethnic group you belong to. Let’s hope the longest living humans show some humanity too.
Until next time, take care and stay safe!
Hira - Editor - The Global Tiller
Dig Deeper
What happens after billionaires have bought the biggest yachts, airplanes and even entire stadiums? They try to buy life itself.
…and now what?
I don’t want to die. I know this sounds cliché and unrealistic, but still. I have this deep conviction that life is so rich, it doesn’t make sense for it to end. So I don’t want it to end. I’m not in denial, I’m just super hopeful and really convinced that living forever is great.
When I tell this to people, the common answer I get is that death is a part of life. There’s a logic to it, for sure. But we also know that if death is a part of life, it doesn’t have to come too soon. From trees aged thousands of years (5,000 years is the record to beat!) to sharks going at least around 500 years, all the way to the infamous tardigrades and their life-defying abilities. All of them enjoy quite a healthy and long life.
So why couldn’t we? Because it’s not natural? But what is and is not? Who gets to decide?
I recently lost my mother. Way too early, way too fast. There was no reason for her to go so soon. And it sucks, no one could argue with that. So I can tell you that if there had been any chance to try “miracle” treatments or any other gene therapy to help, I would have gone for it. But there was none.
If anyone was lining up for any of these crazy inventions the billionaires are investing in these days, I’d be the first.
Yet, I accept that while living longer is great, it is so only if you have access to good health. Living longer is great if everyone can choose it. Life is great, it’s an amazing experience and, as Richard Dawkins would say, “the potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara.” It’s a privilege to be alive, one that we should do everything in our power to enjoy as much as we can.
But I’m saying this from my position of a well-educated, European-born man who has had the chance and the privilege to enjoy life in quite an easy way: I got to travel, work in great places, meet amazing people. Even if I’m far from being among the top 1% (quite far), I’m still part of a minority who definitely has reasons and means to enjoy life.
Yes life is great for me, but it’s not for many. Those who deserve much more than they end up having for the time they’re alive. Is it fair then to give some the chance to be privileged even longer while others are dying sooner than expected from misery? What’s the point of living if it’s to continue perpetuating the errors that we do in our “natural” short lifespan.
These new anti-aging technologies, and those who are investing in them, are once again questioning the fundamentals of our values, of our societies, of our ability to rise to the occasion: the occasion to do good, share good and invest in good.
Does Bezos deserve to live longer? Does MBS? I may not be the one to judge but I can be the one, one among many, to ask the question. Because, like eight other billion people on the planet, I’m the one who has had the utmost privilege to be alive. So before even thinking of living longer, maybe I should start living better and make the most of the time given to me to be fully human. As another imperfect human being Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” So let’s invest in our humanity, and then maybe we’ll deserve the privilege to defeat “nature” and to expand our lives for good reasons.
Philippe - Founder & CEO - Pacific Ventury