In today’s podcast episode, I talk with Nir Barzilai, a geroscientist, which means he studies the biology of aging. Barzilai directs the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

My first question for Dr. Barzilai was: why do we age? And do we have to age? His answers were encouraging. We can’t live forever, but there are a few things we can do to age later, as he argues in the book.

He explained that centenarians differ from the rest of us because they have unique gene mutations that help them stay healthy longer. For most of us, the words “gene mutations” spell trouble—we associate these words with cancer or neurodegenerative diseases, but apparently not all mutations are bad. 

Centenarians may have essentially won the genetic lottery, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us are predestined to have a specific lifespan and health span—the amount of time spend living productively and enjoyably. “Aging is a mother of all diseases,” Dr. Barzilai told me. And as a disease, it can be targeted by therapeutics. Dr. Barzilai’s team is already running clinical trials on such therapeutics—and the results are promising.

More about Dr. Barzilai: He is scientific director of AFAR, American Federation for Aging Research. He is also the author of Age Later.  As part of his work, Barzilai studies families of centenarians and their genetics to learn how the rest of us can learn and benefit from their super-aging. He also organizing a clinical trial that is testing a specific drug that may slow aging. 

Show Links

Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity  https://www.amazon.com/Age-Later-Healthiest-Sharpest-Centenarians/dp/1250230853

American Federation for Aging Research  https://www.afar.org

https://www.afar.org/nir-barzilai

https://www.einsteinmed.edu/faculty/484/nir-barzilai/

Metformin as a Tool to Target Aging

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5943638/

Benefits of Metformin in Attenuating the Hallmarks of Aging  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7347426/

The Longevity Genes Project https://www.einsteinmed.edu/centers/aging/longevity-genes-project/

Making Sense of Science features interviews with leading medical and scientific experts about the latest developments in health innovation and the big ethical and social questions they raise. The podcast is hosted by science journalist Matt Fuchs