Longevity Hackers

A video available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV called ‘Longevity Hackers’ provides a wide-ranging discussion of the developments in the field of human ageing and increased health span. To watch it all you will need to set aside two hours of your time but speaking for myself I found this worthwhile.

The video covers a wide range of the scientific developments currently underway in this field, which I will summarise here. 

In the introduction ageing is described as a loss of function, or in scientific terms an accumulation of cells within tissue which are no longer functioning as intended. 

One contributor makes an interesting point ‘If ageing were seen as a disease, would be find a cure?’ 

Longevity drugs under development are highlighted at some length, among them metformin, rapamycin and klotho. The point is made that while these have shown benefits in animals they are unproven on humans. 

Two further fields of research are epigenetic programming (being able to take cells back to a youthful state) and nano technology (injecting tiny machines into the body to repair cells). 

A final area is senolytics, pills or injections that will eliminate senescent cells which are considered harmful to aging tissues. 

The middle section of the video returns to more proven ground and highlights the benefits of diet, exercise and good sleep on health span. The impact of inflammation and stress is also considered. 

To close the video looks at some more far out ideas such as cryonics and gene therapy. To be honest the cryonics discussion gave me the creeps! 

It’s a worthwhile video to watch in my opinion. As with any unproven area a warning is given that you should consult with a medical professional before embarking on solutions which are not backed up by proven methods.

You can find the video here:- 

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Longevity-Hackers/0PKCQMQIWF9ATMQ8VXCRTWRYU9

https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/longevity-hackers/umc.cmc.3ugbz6kdmqafn9g5ie0wxr627

Another article on the video is available here:-

https://athletechnews.com/longevity-hackers-explores-the-science-of-living-longer/