Our AI writing assistant, WriteUp, can assist you in easily writing any text. Click here to experience its capabilities.

Inside the very strange, very expensive race to “de-age”

View Original View Raw

Summary

Rich tech entrepreneurs have created a competitive online leaderboard called the Rejuvenation Olympics to compete to slow their biological age through lifestyle and diet changes. The competition is led by tech millionaire Bryan Johnson, who spends millions of dollars on reducing his biological age. Other wealthy people are also investing in businesses researching organ regeneration and gene editing, and life extension in general. However, experts are skeptical of the idea of turning back the clock entirely, and there is some evidence that certain lifestyle changes can have regenerative effects. There is also a burgeoning wellness trend of taking epigenetic age tests to measure biological age, and these tests are becoming more popular among wealthy people.

Q&As

What is the purpose of the Rejuvenation Olympics, created by tech millionaire Bryan Johnson?
The purpose of the Rejuvenation Olympics, created by tech millionaire Bryan Johnson, is to compete to see who can slow their “biological age” the most quickly.

How are participants of the Rejuvenation Olympics attempting to “de-age”?
Participants of the Rejuvenation Olympics are attempting to “de-age” by adjusting their diets, being physically active, and retesting their “age” regularly.

How much money is being invested in the life-extension industry?
More than $5 billion in investments are being poured into the life-extension industry worldwide.

What is epigenetic age testing and how does it work?
Epigenetic age testing is a way to measure the difference between chronological age and biological age by looking at how genes are expressed depending on environment and lifestyle. It can be used to predict the likelihood of disease or death.

What do experts say about the potential for reversing biological age?
Experts say that it is not possible to reverse biological age, but that there is some promising evidence behind attempts to extend the human lifespan.

AI Comments

👍 This article does an amazing job of breaking down the very strange and expensive race to "de-age" with lots of informative details and data.

👎 Although this article is informative, it is long and very dense which can make it hard to follow.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about a tech millionaire Bryan Johnson who has launched a game called the Rejuvenation Olympics to compete to see who can slow their "biological age" the most. Participants do this mostly by adjusting their diets, being physically active, and retesting their "age" regularly. It's kind of like a 'race to reverse aging'.

Friend: Interesting. What are the implications of this?

Me: Well, the article discusses how this kind of obsession with life extension and anti-aging is becoming increasingly popular among the ultra-rich, with some big-name tech founders and celebrities investing in companies that are researching organ regeneration, gene editing, and other treatments. It also points to the dangers of people buying into these trends without having a scientific basis for these treatments, as well as the potential for companies to exploit people by selling them snake oil. It's important to be aware of the dangers of these trends and to be sure to do your own research before investing in any kind of life extension or anti-aging treatments.

Action items

Make a contribution to the Vox Contributions program to help support their policy coverage.
Follow the Rejuvenation Olympics on social media to stay up to date on the latest developments in the race to “de-age”.
Research epigenetic age testing to learn more about how lifestyle habits can impact biological age.

Technical terms

Rejuvenation Olympics: An online leaderboard launched by tech millionaire Bryan Johnson earlier this year, where participants compete to see who can slow their “biological age” the most.
Biological Age: Discrete from chronological age, “biological age” is the attempt to capture the often invisible difference through epigenetic gene expression, the state of someone’s organs, their immune system, and more.
Epigenetics: The study of how our genes are expressed depending on environment and lifestyle.
Epigenetic Clock: A test devised by Steve Horvath in 2013 to measure biological age.
Parabiosis: The scientific term for blood and plasma transfer, which has been shown to have regenerative effects on some cells in mice.
Pluripotent Stem Cells: Cells that can be reset to a pliable state.