Living to 200: Can we do it?
"Today, if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would say, “200”. And I have already achieved 25% of my goal. What about you? How many happy and healthy years would you like to live on our beautiful planet? And how positive are you about reaching your goal?
One day living to 100, 150, and even 200 years might be within our reach. After all, Stanford University Professor Stuart Kim thinks that ‘there are those alive today who will live to be 200 years old’. Could it be you?"
- Sergey Young
Can humans truly live to 200? One of the most thought-provoking trends in the world of biotechnology is the idea that human aging could be slowed or even reversed. The scientific field of "longevity" is gaining traction as a recognized field of research and medicine. As Andrea Maier, a physician at the National University of Singapore says, "Longevity medicine is crystallizing as a discipline."
The idea of drastically extending our lifespan is controversial and highly debatable. Experts' conviction on the future of aging science may prove to be hubris, but I am a believer in the mission of these trailblazing scientists and technologists. As Sergey Young mentions in the quote above, I share Sergey's bold, childhood dream of living to 200. I have deep humility to understand that this dream could remain a fantasy, but I maintain hope that following and playing a small part in this bold goal will be worth it.
In fact, we are starting to see many books being published on this subject to spread the new knowledge on aging. These books include: The Science and Technology of Growing Young by Sergey Young, Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old by Andrew Steele, and Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To by David Sinclair among many others. Their are even several examples of companies and research labs beginning studies and clinical trials to test anti-aging drugs in animals and humans. One example is the company Loyal that is testing compounds on dogs.
Many people have valid ethical and societal concerns about the repercussions of extending lifespans. Discussions about the ethics and morality of life-extension technologies will be vital to ensure that these breakthroughs create a true human impact in an equitable manner. However, many fears about increasing lifespan such as overpopulation or food scarcity are very misleading. This article by Sergey Young helps to dispel those "myths."
My own journey to learn about the "Science and Technology of Growing Young" is just beginning, but I am excited by the ways this journey will bolster my curiosity about biology and what it means to be human. Through my job, I have the incredible fortune to research and to learn about the newest breakthroughs at the intersection of biology, computation, and engineering. This learning for my career has led me to uncover the fascinating field of longevity and to gradually learn more. I am eager to continue building my knowledge and expertise in this fascinating field both for my career and my personal well being.
This post serves as an introduction to the topic of aging on 8th Summit and to establish longevity and biotechnology as core pillars of 8th Summit's content. I intend to make aging science and related biotechnology progress as more of a primary focus of my writing and videos into the future. 8th Summit continues to be my creative outlet for exploring "body, mind, and spirit," and the field of longevity intersects all three of those aspects of being human.
Below are a few of countless examples of future content rabbit holes that I likely will dive into, but I would love any input or feedback on what you would enjoy learning about!
Quantified Self — consistently tracking and analyzing our bio markers (inlcuding my own quantified self explorations)
Causes of Aging — the 8 Hallmarks of Aging and strategies to mitigate them
Quantum Biology — a new scientific framework for understanding biological mechanisms
Aging & Biotechnology Thought-Leader — David Sinclair, George Church, Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Peter Attia among many other
Nutrition Health Debates — what should we truly be eating to live long, healthy lives?
Multi-Omics — combining biological data from Genomics, Epigenomics, Proteomics, Transcriptomics Metabolomics and many other fields to better understand health outcomes
Revolutionary Biotechnology & Aging Companies — (too many to list!)
Biohacking & Supplements — What is the signal from the noise to listen to from “biohacking” experimenters?
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Aging and biology in general are some of the most complex topics to understand, so these explorations of longevity surely will be endless, making this learning adventure all the more exciting. I am eager to share what I learn on this journey, and my goal will be to communicate these complex topics in a simple and approachable way. I also hope you join the conversation with me. Living to 200 would only be fun if we do it together!