Immortality vs. Vitality
"Who wants to live forever?" asked Freddie Mercury in the 1986 song of the same name. Five years later, he was dead—of a disease that is now a manageable chronic condition. Science might not have kept Mercury alive forever, but it could have kept him around until today. (He would be 77.)
Humans have been cheating death for centuries—with average lifespans in the U.S. jumping over 20% in just the past century. (In Mercury’s native UK, they have increased about 15 years since his birth in 1946.) We've redefined the average lifespan through a combination of common sense (don’t smoke) and groundbreaking-turned-routine science (vaccines, mammograms). But less so with extreme lifespan. Sophocles died at 90; Ramses II lived at least that long. (A select number of people have hit around 120 in modern times.)?
Now scientists, and their ultra-wealthy backers, are asking if we can extend lives even farther, or at least make 90, 100, even 120 routine. A few boosters are even talking about longevity escape velocity—using current, cutting-edge technology to extend your life long enough to take advantage of the next wave of life-extending technology and again and again. (It may ultimately end in uploading your consciousness to a machine.) There are odd tales of hyperbaric chambers, offshore stem cell injections, and even blood infusions from teenagers. However, most antiaging advocates are focused more on extending the number of healthy years.
We’ll explore the full range of life-extending technologies and philosophies in the Spring issue of Worth magazine, due out next month. But today, we give you a sampling of what we’ve uncovered—how scientists are trying to learn from DIY longevity hackers . A team of academic and private-sector researchers recently collected data from hundreds of people who have been taking rapamycin, a drug given to organ transplant patients, for the off-label use of slowing the aging process.?
“I think we can say with some level of confidence, at the doses people are using off-label, [there was] very, very little in the way of at least short-term side effects, and some evidence for some benefits,” says Matt Kaeberlein, one of the researchers. Possible benefits include reducing chronic aches and pains and maybe limiting the severity of COVID infections.
Another researcher, Columbia University’s Yousin Suh, is now leading a clinical trial to see if rapamycin can slow the deterioration of ovaries, which age much faster than other body parts. If the therapy works, a cheap (perhaps) harmless drug could forestall menopause and the host of ailments that come with it (and risks of the current treatment, hormone replacement therapy). It will be a while before science can say for sure, though.
Meanwhile, we can all improve our chances of living longer and better with some basic steps . Eat well, exercise more, sleep enough, and get out to experience positive (and health-boosting) experiences with friends and family.
Have a healthy, happy week.?
—Sean Captain, executive editor
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A study found healthy people taking organ-transplant drug rapamycin off-label showed signs of improved health, and even COVID resistance.
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