When it comes to longevity, men seek quantity while women seek quality.
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We humans spend a lot of time seeking more time.
The ancient kings of Egypt allegedly bathed in blood, believing it would rejuvenate them. A fifteenth-century physician treating Pope Innocent VIII reportedly bought blood from three young boys, which was then either transfused into or ingested by the pope to extend his life. And a century and a half later, doctors caring for the 41-year-old King Louis XIII of France bled the monarch 47 times, gave him 215 laxatives, and administered 210 enemas in preparation for an age-defying blood transfusion that failed to extend his lifespan to 42.
We may shudder (or laugh) at these primitive interventions, but parabiosis (experimenting with how shared blood and hormones affect aging) is more popular than ever. It is a protocol followed by many tech investors whose names are commonly associated with the most visible pursuits of extending lifespan, including Peter Thiel and Bryan Johnson. Meanwhile, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos are both investing millions in companies researching cellular reprogramming and cellular rejuvenation. In some ways, the “don’t die” philosophy is at the heart of a new competitive arena for the world’s wealthiest men.
I say men because there’s a fascinating gender gap when it comes to longevity. I’m not talking about the fact that women live an average of five years longer than men in the U.S., and seven years longer worldwide. What’s remarkable, instead, is the different goals pursued by men and women regarding longevity—a difference that can be boiled down to quantity versus quality. Roughly speaking, where many of the leading male longevity voices emphasize the aim of extending life beyond all limits, female experts tend to emphasize the quest for more meaningful time marked by healthy living.
Take Nobel Prize-winning Elizabeth Blackburn, who is celebrated for her groundbreaking discovery of the role of telomeres in cellular aging. Telomeres are repetitive sequences of non-coding DNA that prevent chromosomes from fraying, degrading, or fusing with one another during cell division. Blackburn’s research revealed that as telomeres shorten with age, cells eventually stop dividing and die. Protecting these is a key to delaying cellular aging and preventing age-related diseases, increasing your ability to live a longer, healthier life.
Now 77, Dr. Blackburn is living proof of what extending healthspan looks like. She’s still working as a researcher and educator, collaborating on clinical and human studies investigating how telomere biology impacts aging and human health and serving as an outspoken advocate for science ethics and policymaking. Blackburn says that our goal should not be to live to 150 years old, but to live well for 80 or 90 years.
You’ll hear something similar from Laura Deming, the 31-year-old founder of The Longevity Fund and a venture capitalist dedicated to curing age-related diseases. Deming is passionate about the idea of “pausing” biological time in patients with incurable diseases using reverse cryopreservation, sometimes described as medical hibernation. She pushes back against the perception of longevity research as focused on living forever; instead, she advocates for “medicine for a healthy life” with the goal of being able to spend more time with loved ones.
Although they’re not mutually exclusive, the goal of extending life beyond current limits versus an emphasis on preserving a healthy life highlights the deep moral and philosophical values we express through our approach to science. Death may be a problem to be conquered, but to what end?
I’ll leave the last word to Cynthia Kenyon, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the genetics of aging and life extension. “You could have two completely different careers if you could stay healthy to 90,” Kenyon says. She views life extension as a form of preventive medicine that recognizes aging as a risk factor for multiple diseases. Extending life in her world isn’t about ingesting hundreds of supplements, undergoing MRIs and laser therapies, and eating your final meal of the day at noon. It’s about extending the years when you’re learning, curious, and contributing to the world around you.
The goal we should pursue, Kenyon once said, is to “have a healthy life and then turn out the lights.”
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