A roadmap to end aging | Aubrey de Grey

Desirable Aspects of Defeating Aging

The speaker delves into the desirability of defeating aging and the need for more discussions on this topic.

Why Defeating Aging is Desirable

• Aging is undesirable, akin to malaria, but affects more people.

• Comparison made with foxhunting ban in Britain to highlight societal change resistance.

• Aging leads to frailty and dependence, impacting quality of life negatively.

• Arguments against addressing aging are outweighed by benefits of extending healthy lifespan.

• Concerns about overpopulation due to extended lifespans addressed with a choice between low birth rate or high death rate.

Feasibility of Defeating Aging

The speaker discusses the feasibility of combating aging and challenges fatalistic attitudes towards it.

Feasibility Discussion

• Transition from modest life extension to defeating aging explored.

• Aim to eliminate age-related mortality and illness discussed as a key goal.

• Moral imperative highlighted in developing therapies for an indefinite lifespan.

Challenging Fatalism Towards Aging

Addressing fatalistic views on aging and proposing actions to counter them forms the core discussion.

Overcoming Fatalism

• Parallels drawn between societal acceptance shifts like foxhunting ban and combating aging.

Inevitability of Aging and Feasibility of Intervention

The speaker discusses the perception of aging as inevitable due to metabolism and introduces two approaches, gerontology and geriatrics, for addressing aging-related issues.

Inevitability of Aging

• Aging is a side effect of metabolism, leading to the accumulation of side effects causing pathology.

• Despite self-repair mechanisms, aging occurs due to imperfect repair processes within metabolism.

Approaches to Postponing Aging

• Two main approaches are gerontology (prevention-focused) and geriatrics (late intervention).

• Geriatrics aims to delay pathology but faces challenges with increasing abundance of factors causing aging.

• Gerontology seems promising but lacks a comprehensive understanding of metabolism for effective intervention.

Feasibility and Progress in Extending Human Lifespan

The speaker explores the feasibility of extending human lifespan through robust rejuvenation therapies and discusses the impact of technological progress on life extension efforts.

Robust Human Rejuvenation

• Introduces "robust human rejuvenation" concept offering 30 extra years of healthy life.

• Discusses the complexity in determining how long individuals will live post-rejuvenation due to technological progress.

Technological Progress and Life Extension

• Differentiates between fundamental breakthroughs and incremental refinements in technology affecting predictability in life extension advancements.

• Highlights how incremental advances post-fundamental breakthrough lead to significant improvements across various technologies.

Continuous Improvement in Therapies

• Emphasizes that individuals benefiting from initial therapies will likely access improved treatments, staying ahead in life extension efforts.

Longevity Escape Velocity

In this section, the speaker introduces the concept of "longevity escape velocity" and discusses how age impacts the effectiveness of potential therapies in extending lifespan.

Understanding Longevity Escape Velocity

• Individuals at different ages will respond differently to longevity therapies. Younger individuals have a better chance of benefiting from these treatments compared to older individuals.

• The speaker predicts that the first person to live up to 1,000 years may only be around 10 years younger than the first 150-year-old individual, highlighting the potential impact of longevity-enhancing therapies.

• Emphasizes that individuals who are younger may never reach a state where they are vulnerable to age-related causes of death, indicating a shift in how aging is perceived and managed.

Robust Mouse Rejuvenation

This part focuses on achieving robust mouse rejuvenation as a milestone towards human rejuvenation and longevity escape velocity.

Milestone: Robust Mouse Rejuvenation

• Describes an experiment involving long-lived mice where interventions at an older age extended their lifespan significantly, providing insights into potential strategies for human life extension.

• Discusses the implications of achieving robust mouse rejuvenation on timelines for human rejuvenation and public perception regarding the feasibility and timeline of such advancements.

Engineering Approach to Aging

The speaker delves into an engineering approach to aging, emphasizing periodic repair of damage as a strategy for extending healthy lifespan.

Engineering Approach Insights

• Distinguishes between gerontology's focus on inhibiting damage accumulation and geriatrics' role in managing pathology caused by accumulated damage, introducing an alternative engineering approach that involves periodic repair without intervening in natural processes.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of metabolism in aging and presents lists related to age-related pathology and types of damage caused by metabolism.

Metabolism and Aging

• Metabolism plays a crucial role in aging, with almost all aspects of metabolism impacting the aging process.

• The list of age-related pathologies is incomplete, indicating the complexity of issues associated with aging.

• A complete list is provided for types of damage resulting from metabolism that lead to pathology, consisting of only seven categories.

New Section

This segment focuses on the completeness of the list detailing types of damage caused by metabolism and proposes solutions for addressing these issues.

Types of Damage and Solutions

• The list comprising seven categories represents different forms of damage resulting from metabolism.

• An argument is presented for the completeness of this list based on biological considerations, emphasizing long-lived molecules as susceptible to accumulating damage.

• It is suggested that all seven types of damage can be addressed in mice within a decade, with some fixes already partially implemented.

New Section

This part emphasizes the need for serious efforts and funding to achieve robust mouse rejuvenation within ten years while encouraging critical engagement with gerontology research.

Call for Action and Research Engagement

• Adequate funding could potentially lead to significant progress in developing mouse rejuvenation within a decade.

• Encouragement is given to biologists to delve into research details and challenge existing paradigms in gerontology through thorough investigation.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the implications of brain cell longevity in adults and its relevance to the field of rejuvenation.

Implications of Brain Cell Longevity

• The speaker aims to increase the rate of moving through time by one year per year.

• Audience members inquire about the longevity of brain cells from human embryos lasting up to 80 years and its implications for rejuvenation.

• AG explains that replacing cells in areas of the brain that lose cells at a steady rate, particularly neurons, is crucial for rejuvenation efforts.