When you read a newsletter called Further, you might expect to be exposed to topics like healthy aging and life extension. But have you noticed that those topics are everywhere these days?
Biotechnology has been touted as the “next big thing” for at least the last 20 years. But now it seems the hype period has ended and real solutions are emerging for not only extending human life, but also maintaining the quality of our lives for longer.
One approach is a drug that essentially removes senescent cells from the body. What are those exactly?
When we’re young … our cells naturally divide — this constant renewal is what keeps us youthful and what, for instance, maintains wrinkle-free skin and supple joints. As we age, our cells essentially get exhausted and “pull the emergency brake” to stop dividing. That phenomenon is called senescence.
The company developing the drug is called Unity, and they have backing from the Longevity Fund, a VC group that invests in companies that develop ways to improve heath and quality of life as we age — to “essentially lengthen the amount of time we feel young in the time frame of our life (a concept known as health span).”
Meanwhile, the University of Colorado here in Boulder is developing an alternate approach. Last week, I included an article about how reducing the amount of calories you take in by 15% (“caloric restriction”) can slow the aging process.
Which means, ummm … you have to eat less.
But a new CU Boulder study published today indicates that when people consume a natural dietary supplement called nicotinomide riboside (NR) daily, it mimics caloric restriction, aka “CR,” kick-starting the same key chemical pathways responsible for its health benefits.
Let’s face it, the Baby Boomers are getting up there, there’s a ton of them, and as a group, they have a ton of money. So it makes sense that the biotech revolution is arriving just in time, especially given that no one is thrilled about getting old and dying.
But it may be my own Generation X that needs to contemplate these developments carefully, even though we’re younger. We still have time to start designing the life we want right now, and it seems to be more important than ever to get that process rolling.
Let’s make the most of the extra time and vitality that it seems we’ll have. That’s what Further is really all about.
- Can Secret To Staying Forever Young Be As Simple As Flicking A Switch?
- A Pill that Staves Off Aging? It’s On the Horizon
Keep going-
Brian Clark
Further
further: top ten
Move It or Lose It
Walk for two minutes. Repeat 15 times. Or walk for 10 minutes, three times. The benefits for longevity appear to be almost exactly the same, according to an inspiring new study of physical activity patterns and life spans.
Those 2-Minute Walk Breaks? They Add Up
Hold the Phthalates
Eating at restaurants and fast food chains may increase exposure to potentially harmful hormone-disrupting chemicals used to increase the flexibility and durability of plastic, a study has found. Yeah, that’s what phthalates are. Worst headline ever.
Eating Out Increases Levels of Phthalates in the Body, Study Finds
Lift to Live
You know what’s worse than getting older? Not getting older because you’re dead. Okay, that was a bit harsh, but if you’re going to lift weights, it helps to be a little riled up.
Why Lifting Weights As You Age Cuts Your Risk Of Early Death By 46%
Might As Well Jump
This life is not a dress rehearsal. If you can find work that fulfills you, don’t you have a responsibility to yourself to do that? Also, doesn’t being happier have a positive impact on those who depend on you?
Kill a Dead-End Job and Make the Leap to Career Happiness
Fund Your Life
It’s one thing to contemplate and pursue the life you want. It’s quite another to fund it. It’s doable though, and financial advice from the right person can make it happen.
How to Find and Vet a Financial Advisor
Hello, Jerry
What strategies does Jerry Seinfeld use to beat procrastination and consistently produce quality work? What does he do each day that most people don’t? This article reveals one of the secrets behind Seinfeld’s incredible productivity, performance, and consistency.
How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”
Slow Ride
Leah Weiss believes that when we pay attention to how we do our work — our thoughts and feelings about what we do and why we do it — we can tap into a much deeper reservoir of courage, creativity, meaning, and resilience. My experience says she’s right.
Why Slowing Down Can Actually Help Us Achieve More
Attention Please
Prospective partners are attracted by the ultimate compliment: Your attention. So put your damn phone away if you’d like to engage in other activities.
The Most Attractive (Invisible) Trait of Any Partner
No Regrets
It would suck if you lived longer, just to have more time to regret the stuff you didn’t do. Regret is what happens when you’re busy making plans that you never follow through on.
You’ll Seriously Regret These Life Choices Forever And What to do About Them
The Joke’s On You
Even though this article was published on March 27, I had to check twice that it wasn’t an early April Fool’s joke. This procedure is designed to upload your brain to a computer, but they have to map your brain while you’re still alive, and the process kills you. Yes, there’s a waiting list.
The Startup That Has to Kill You to Preserve Your Brain — Here’s the Science Behind the Buzz
further: sharing
Please use the social media buttons below to share this issue of Further. Thank you!
Please forward this issue of Further to a friend who could benefit from it. Or click here to use the social sharing buttons for this issue.
Thank you!
