Andrew Steele on Research at the Cellular Level That Could Slow Aging

[B]OLD AGE With Debbie Weil

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Andrew Steele on Research at the Cellular Level That Could Slow Aging

Debbie Weil

Jan 20, 2023

Today Debbie tackles the topic of aging (better? longer??) with Andrew Steele, an ebullient British scientist, writer and author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old.

After earning a PhD in physics from Oxford, Andrew decided that aging - not cancer or other diseases - was the single most important scientific challenge of our time. Why? Because of the suffering that goes along with old age.

So he switched fields to biogerontology, the study of the processes of aging at the cellular level.

Andrew, 37, doesn’t advocate for immortality. As he puts it: “It’s not about extending lifespan, but rather healthspan." His interest, he maintains, is in helping humans stay healthier longer.

Debbie asks Andrew what the most important biological aging processes are. He responds with a clear explanation of cell biology as it relates to aging: from senescent cells and cellular exhaustion to your epigenetic age, and more.

And he explains that some of these genes and processes can be manipulated to slow or possibly reverse aging - at least, so far, in worms and mice.

Andrew is exuberant and makes everything understandable.

They talk about:

The 10 hallmarks of the aging process
Specifically, how research on worms and mice translates to humans
Why 65 - 70 could be the ideal age to take an anti-aging pill (no, it doesn't exist yet)

They also discuss:

Dietary restriction (a topic of aging research since the 1950s)
Why the mega-wealthy are so interested in biohacking to improve health and extend life
Moral and ethical implications of humans living much longer

This is an important conversation and we hope you will find it as thought provoking as we did.

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

Andrew's book and bonus chapter

Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old by Andrew Steele (Doubleday, 2021)
Bonus chapter: The ethics of ageing biology by Andrew Steele
Video from bonus chapter: Would curing aging destroy the planet?

Articles and references

Biogerontology
Looking Forward to Your 170th Birthday by Annie Murphy Paul (New York Times Book Review, April 2, 2021)
Why Anti-Aging Science is so Alluring by Daniela J. Lamas (New York Times, Jan. 4, 2023)
The Hallmarks of Aging by Carlos López-Otín, Maria A Blasco, Linda Partridge, Manuel Serrano, Guido Kroemer (Pubmed, June 6, 2013)
Viral Tweet about Blueprint & Bryan Johnson
CAR T Cells: Engineering Immune Cells to Treat Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

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