#181 – Laura Deming on the science that could keep us healthy in our 80s and beyond

80,000 Hours Podcast

"The question I care about is: What do I want to do? Like, when I'm 80, how strong do I want to be? OK, and then if I want to be that strong, how well do my muscles have to work? OK, and then if that's true, what would they have to look like at the cellular level for that to be true? Then what do we have to do to make that happen? In my head, it's much more about agency and what choice do I have over my health. And even if I live the same number of years, can I live as an 80-year-old running every day happily with my grandkids?" — Laura Deming

In today’s episode, host Luisa Rodriguez speaks to Laura Deming — founder of The Longevity Fund — about the challenge of ending ageing.

Links to learn more, summary, and full transcript.

They cover:

• How lifespan is surprisingly easy to manipulate in animals, which suggests human longevity could be increased too.
• Why we irrationally accept age-related health decline as inevitable.
• The engineering mindset Laura takes to solving the problem of ageing.
• Laura’s thoughts on how ending ageing is primarily a social challenge, not a scientific one.
• The recent exciting regulatory breakthrough for an anti-ageing drug for dogs.
• Laura’s vision for how increased longevity could positively transform society by giving humans agency over when and how they age.
• Why this decade may be the most important decade ever for making progress on anti-ageing research.
• The beauty and fascination of biology, which makes it such a compelling field to work in.
• And plenty more.

Chapters:

• The case for ending ageing (00:04:00)
• What might the world look like if this all goes well? (00:21:57)
• Reasons not to work on ageing research (00:27:25)
• Things that make mice live longer (00:44:12)
• Parabiosis, changing the brain, and organ replacement can increase lifespan (00:54:25)
• Big wins the field of ageing research (01:11:40)
• Talent shortages and other bottlenecks for ageing research (01:17:36)

Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Simon Monsour and Milo McGuire
Additional content editing: Katy Moore and Luisa Rodriguez
Transcriptions: Katy Moore