Dr David Sinclair summarises the research that is being done in the world to tackle Ageing. He has an interesting take about treating ageing like any other disease - like Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s etc. The chances of contracting one or many of these diseases usually go up as a person’s age goes up but usually, all the research in the world is focused on tackling the symptoms of these latter diseases, without looking into the root cause.
Dr David’s research was primarily focused on studying longevity in yeast and rats, and the results have been very promising. Ageing can be contributed to the loss of analogue information - called epigenetic information. The DNA in our cells is the digital information that is replicated across all the cells - but the function of each cell is driven by epigenetic markers. These proteins wrap around the DNA and selectively enable or disable genes - giving cells their function. Over time, the ability of epigenetic markers to identify the parts of the gene and activate them becomes difficult. This is called the breakdown of DNA. This causes cells to malfunction and lose their identity. Over time, this is what makes organs less effective and leads to ageing.
The idea is simple - the epigenetic markers have to keep working efficiently as long as possible. And it is possible for them to do so by certain lifestyle changes and taking certain medications. Dr David’s research was focused on one specific pathway of preserving epigenetic information - sirtuins. For example, by being in a fasted state (or calorie restriction), our cells become stressed, and thus the repair mechanism is engaged, leading to healthier cells. Anything which puts the cells under a bit of stress - but not too much that the repairs are beyond possible. This is known as hormesis.
Sirtuins are just one pathway to preserve epigenetic information or trigger the repair process of DNAs. There are other pathways called AMPK and mTOR. There are over-the-counter medications that are available that could help do this - metformin being the most widely available. But many of these drugs are not prescribed to people in the absence of any diseases e.g. Type 2 diabetes and thus it is difficult to gain mass adoption. There are several trials underway that will test the effectiveness of many medicines on humans wrt ageing. The results should start to come out in the next half-decade.
He also touches upon the morality of doing so - there is research underway (gene editing, NAD/AMPK/mTOR pathway medicines) that could push the lifespan of humans to what is currently not thought possible. Maybe 120 looks like 70 today. The world would start to face political and economical chaos. But he does bring a really interesting perspective if that would be the reason to not do it. If all the research currently underway just adds 10 years of healthy life to humans, maybe we push the boundaries of ageing and everyone lives till 150. he also briefly brushes upon immortality and voluntary death.
It was a really interesting read. Personally, I am looking forward to what science advances we unlock in the next century, so I’m all for living and seeing with the world for as long as possible, in a healthy body. I obviously won’t eat any medicines unless formally approved by clinical trials, but I take away the following natural ways to push health span by a decade maybe or die without any severe diseases.