Rating

★★★★☆

Category

non-fiction

Read

2021-07-15

Pages

432

Pretty compelling. Thesis: Aging should be treated as a disease, it feels like we’re on the cusp of breakthroughs similar to what’s been done with cancer treatment in the last decade. Self-aware of the ethical issues (perceived and real) and covers them briefly.

Fellow scientists often warn me not to be so publicly optimistic. “It’s not a good look,” one well-meaning colleague recently told me. “Why?” I asked. “Because the public isn’t ready for these numbers.” I disagree. Ten years ago, I was a pariah to many of my colleagues for even talking about making medicines to help patients. One scientist told me that our job as researchers is to “just show a molecule extends lifespan in mice, and the public will take it from there.” Sadly, I wish that were true. Today, many of my colleagues are just as optimistic as I am, even if they don’t admit it publicly. I’d wager that about a third of them take metformin or an NAD booster. A few of them even take low doses of rapamycin intermittently.