March 6, 2016 | ProgressTH Imagine living to be 140, or 240, or even longer. Imagine doing so not as a frail elderly person, but in the same health and shape of a 25-30 year old. Imagine humanity benefiting from your wisdom and experience and vitality for decades to come. Instead of leaving a legacy behind, imagine yourself creating one and living it well into the future.
It may sound like a fantasy or science fiction, but for a growing number of scientists, researchers, and biotech enthusiasts this future is becoming all but inevitable. Instead of investing in their "retirement" they are investing in moving beyond retirement.
In fact, some have even begun experimenting (on themselves) with therapies that rewrite our very genetic code, rewriting it in such a way that our genes express themselves as they did when we were younger and healthier.
One of these people is Liz Parrish, CEO of a startup venture called Bioviva. She had a team of doctors administer two such therapies to her creating excitement for forward-thinkers, and controversy for entrenched ideologies and industries.
It may sound like a fantasy or science fiction, but for a growing number of scientists, researchers, and biotech enthusiasts this future is becoming all but inevitable. Instead of investing in their "retirement" they are investing in moving beyond retirement.
In fact, some have even begun experimenting (on themselves) with therapies that rewrite our very genetic code, rewriting it in such a way that our genes express themselves as they did when we were younger and healthier.
One of these people is Liz Parrish, CEO of a startup venture called Bioviva. She had a team of doctors administer two such therapies to her creating excitement for forward-thinkers, and controversy for entrenched ideologies and industries.
The first lengthens telomeres, a sort of protective end-cap on your DNA the helps ensure accurate copies of your DNA as your cells divide everyday. Over time, these caps shorten to a point when your DNA is no longer protected, mistakes accumulate and the effects of "aging" result. By lengthening these caps, lab animals have increased their lifespans and even reversed certain aspects of aging. The procedure has also proven effective on human cells in labs. With Liz Parrish as "patient zero," we will now get some insight into whether it works on a living human being.
The second therapy increases the production of muscles using a myostatin inhibitor.
Together, Parrish, her company, and a growing number of supporters hope that these therapies represent just the beginning of a much larger push to cure aging-related conditions and eventually, aging altogether.
Together, Parrish, her company, and a growing number of supporters hope that these therapies represent just the beginning of a much larger push to cure aging-related conditions and eventually, aging altogether.
Her interview with Adam Ford gives a very detailed picture of Parrish's philosophy and the science behind what she and her team are attempting to accomplish. She, better than anyone else, can explain the "why" of fighting aging and the sort of future that might take shape if we succeed.
And when we really think about the amount of money spent, the heartbreak, fear, and sadness that accompany the death of a loved one due to aging, it makes a lot of sense to invest in anti-aging considering the technology and science now exists to beat it. It makes much more sense than investing in a "retirement" we know with absolute certainty how it will "end."
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And when we really think about the amount of money spent, the heartbreak, fear, and sadness that accompany the death of a loved one due to aging, it makes a lot of sense to invest in anti-aging considering the technology and science now exists to beat it. It makes much more sense than investing in a "retirement" we know with absolute certainty how it will "end."
Follow ProgressTH.org on Facebook here or on Twitter here.
