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Wednesday, October 28, 2026

THE SCIENCE TO STOP AND REVERSE AGING: Part 5

Top news of the day.

  • U.S. midterm elections on November 3, six days away.  Hope they are held and results accepted.
  • As I mentioned yesterday, Israel is on a path to select two leaders, prime minister and president.  Could be named today, or next week, or by the end of the year.  If delayed that long, there will a second set of Knesset elections.  In the meantime, Benjamin Netanyahu carries on as Prime Minister. 
  • The Federal Reserve voted 10-2 to hold its benchmark interest rate within the current 3.75%-4.00% range, acknowledging that inflation remains elevated.  If there was any added hint, it is that further rate hikes will still be coming on top of this high level today.  As you know, Kevin Wharsh replaced Jerome Powell as chairman in May.

In a way, the roots of this series about the science to stop and reverse began with a posting on 8May2016, more than a decade ago, about how life began.  If you click on that article, at the very end I congratulated myself for finally reaching a million visitors to this site.  It took eight years to get to that number.  Yesterday, the 13 millionth person viewed this blog site.  A lot more readers/day now compared to the first 8 years.


About this matter of science stopping and reversing aging:

Four months ago I began a series on The Science to Stop Aging and Reverse Aging.

According to Google AI:

Currently, there is no clinically proven way to completely stop or reverse human aging. However, AI and biotechnology are accelerating longevity research, shifting the focus from science fiction to practical exploration. [1, 2, 3]  Anti-aging research is shifting from simply slowing decline to actively reversing cellular age. The most significant expansion in the field involves epigenetic reprogramming, where scientists use modified proteins (Yamanaka factors) to reset the molecular controls on DNA, essentially training old and damaged cells to behave like youthful ones. [1, 2, 3] 


Life Biosciences is one of those companies pioneering epigenetic restoration.

  • What can be done?
    • Starting with yourself, as I have recently been reporting, exercise and restrict certain foods.
    • Prevent protein aggregation.
      • Optimize your buffer conditions to stabilize the protein's native folded state.
      • This is achieved by adjusting the pH, salt concentration and temperature by incorporating stabilizing additives like osmolytes (like glycerol and trehalose) and surfactants (like Tween20).
    • Senescent cells can be removed.
      • These are also called zombie cells, which stop dividing, but refuse to die.  They accumulate with age and release toxic, pro-inflammatory chemicals that cause tissue dysfunction.
      • Senolytic drugs.
        • Drugs that induce programmed death of of senescent cells without harming healthy ones.
        • So far, Dasatinib and Quercetin together has been shown to eliminate zombie cells.  Watch this video.
        • Plant-derived compounds like fisetin quercetin (found in apples, onions and strawberries) and theaflavins (in black and oolong tea) have been shown to have a positive effect on lab animals.
      • Lifestyle changes.
        • Again, exercise, exercise, exercise.
        • Fast.  Those who can do this for one to two days triggered the natural clearance of damaged cells via autophagy, your body's natural cellular recycling system, where cells break down and reuse damaged or dysfunctional parts, clearing out cellular debris and generating energy to build new and healthy structures.
        • Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!
        • Cellular housekeeping prevents the buildup of defective proteins tha can contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
    • Understand that young blood might have rejuvenating properties.
      • There are severe ethical concerns and a general lack of scientific backing.
      • There is Bryan Johnson's Project Blueprint.
        • He sold his e-commerce company Braintree/enmo for $800 million, and made headlines integrating young blood plasma into his ultra-strict, $2 milion/year longevity blueprint.
        • His primary donor was his 17-year old song, Talmage.
        • Bryan himself ten donated his plasma to his 70 year-old father.
        • However, stopped treatments after 6 months because he could not detect benefits.
        • So does this work?  Not validated as a unified medical treatment, but.....
      • PayPal co-founder and billionaire venture capitalists Peter Thiel is fascinated with parabiosis, the scientific term for exchanging blood between young and old organisms.
        • Believes that this will extend his life.
        • Has run into ethical problems for his personal use of "blood boys."
        • Says he is primarily investing millions into anti-aging startups developing young plasma therapies.
        • Keeps getting linked with vampires.
I can go on and on.  But here is a New York Times article by Dana Smith questioning the efficacy of antiaging supplements.  Nicotinamide adenine dinocleotide, or NAD+, sold in your neighborhood pharmacy.

  • The molecule is critical for cellular metabolism and other fundamental biological processes, and scientists and supplement companies alike have asserted that its levels drop with age. The idea that taking an NAD+ supplement could help with healthy aging took off, despite the fact that evidence showing a benefit in humans is slim. 
  • The theory that NAD+ declines with age emerged roughly 20 years ago, Kaeberlein said, stemming from studies in yeast, worms and mice that showed that increasing levels of the molecule could improve longevity. But scientists weren’t able to study whether a decline occurs in humans until more recently because testing blood levels of NAD+ is technically very tricky, he added.  
  • However, the theory took off and “outpaced the actual data,” Kaeberlein said. “You get high-profile people writing review articles (Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Bieber), talking at conferences, nowadays going on podcasts stating what I would say are early stage models as if they are proven fact.”

The New York Times earlier this month had another related article, Eilene Zimmerman on Longevity Medicine Goes Mainstream.

  • There are now hundreds of boutique longevity clinics in the U.S. to extend life and health span.  
    • They have been around, actually, in limited areas, for some time, costing tens of thousands to undergo treatment outside mainstream medicine, not yet proven.  These were mostly for the very rich.
    • For example, Fountain Life is a longevity company charging its highest tier $23,500/year to access genome sequencing, whole body MRI, stem cell therapies and therapeutic plasma exchange.
    • These opportunities are now growing.  Northwestern's Human Longevity Clinic, supported by their Potocsnak Longevity Institute, charges $5500/year, provides access to healthy aging treatments:
      • VO2 max testing (how much oxygen your body consumes while exercising).
      • Physical function and strength assessments.
      • Complex bloodwork.
      • Body composition analysis.
      • Biological age tests and retinal analysis to assess risk of developing cardiac disease and cognitive dysfunction.
    • Mount Sinai Healthspan in New York City will shortly open a one-year program to provide evidence, informed screenings and interventions focused on extending health span.  Included is an Oura Ring for continuous biometric data monitoring.  That ring typically costs from $400 to $500.  This program also includes genetic testing and full-body MRI, with a caution that the detection of harmless tumors can lead to anxiety and unnecessary treatment.  Also will cost $5500/year.  Insurance plans do not cover this cost.
    • Weill Cornell Medicine's Longevity Medicine program in New York City offers one comprehensive initial assessment for $7600, and $12,500 to include quarterly visits.
    • Your local medical school will no doubt join these initiators over time.
    • Their philosophy is that they want others to benefit from wellness programs without being wealthy.  
    • Now, all they need to do is somehow get medical plans to pay for this program.

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