Can Science Really Increase Longevity? - Good Times
The trend known as reverse aging aims to slow down the aging process By Florence Dujoux The 2025 Netflix documentary Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever is a deep dive into the life of American entrepreneur and multi-billionaire Bryan Johnson that portrays his quest for immortality. On the agenda: intensive physical […]
The trend known as reverse aging aims to slow down the aging processBy Florence DujouxThe 2025 Netflix documentaryDon’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Foreveris a deep dive into the life of American entrepreneur and multi-billionaire Bryan Johnson that portrays his quest for immortality. On theagenda: intensive physical training, a strict vegan diet,highly managed sleep, a series of technologies (suchas light therapy, electrostimulation, and hair-regrowthhelmets), and the consumption of 130 daily supplements—not to mention a number of experimental treatments such as plasma injections and gene therapy. With an annual budget of $2 million, a team of 30people follows Johnson every day and analyzes hisdata in real time. Last year, the tech magnate claimed that his protocol lowered his biological age by five years—from 47 to 42. The Dream of Immortality“It’s really a marketing ploy,” says Benoit Arsenault, a full professor in the Department of Medicine at UniversitéLaval in Quebec City. “There’s nothing scientific about it. ”On Johnson’s Project Blueprint website, you can buy the supplements he takes. If the approach of this tech bro—who sold his paymentplatform to PayPal for $800 million—is generating a lot ofinterest, that’s because he’s conducting his experimentson himself (this is called biohacking) and giving free access to his data. However, assessing the effectiveness ofhis protocol would require large-scale, long-term testing. Arsenault says that immortality research doesn’t currently have a sound scientific basis. “Longevity protocolsthat use supplements, overtraining, gene therapy, andplasma donations aren’t supported by any evidence,” headds. Their negative impacts can even outweigh theirbenefits. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), the US agency responsible for public health, hasissued an official warning against plasma transfusionsfrom young donors. Playing With Biological AgeNo regulatory authority has validated the measurementsof Johnson’s biological age, but you’ll soon be able to knowyour own thanks to a simple blood test. The amount ofKlotho, an anti-aging protein produced in the kidneys, inthe blood makes it possible to estimate and predict longevity in good health, according to Jean-SébastienPaquette, a physician and researcher at Université Laval’sVITAM, a research centre in sustainable health. Whatinterests scientists is that the level of Klotho decreases as people age but increases with good lifestyle habits. Even though many experts are critical of Johnson’sapproach, they give him credit for highlighting the dangers of highly processed foods, sedentariness, and insufficient sleep. By focusing on the secret of centenarians, ÉricSimard, a doctor of biology and a researcher in cellularaging, has shown that these long-living people excelledin the four aspects of a healthy lifestyle: diet, physicalactivity, stress and anxiety management, and quality ofsocial life, in addition to having a positive outlook. “Lifestyle has an impact at the molecular level,” saysBenoit Laurent, a professor in the Department ofBiochemistry and Genomics at the Université deSherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Que. , and a researcher at theCentre for Research on Aging. Exercise slows downmuscle decline, good nutrition promotes cell quality, andadequate sleep can help prevent cognitive decline. The Birth of GeroscienceIf it’s possible to have an impact on secondary aging, related to the environment and lifestyle habits, what aboutprimary aging, which affects everyone eventually? In the2000s, scientific publications showed that it was not just a question of wear and tear. Ten years later, researchersfound that aging can be explained by biological dysfunction. Advances in research led to a new discipline: geroscience. “Instead of treating each age-related disease—suchas high blood pressure, diabetes, and dementia—one byone, geroscience treats them all at the same time by identifying their shared biological mechanisms when it comesto prevention,” says Dr. Gustavo Duque, a professor of geriatrics at McGill University in Montreal. Duque, who is alsodirector of McGill’s Centre of Excellence for SustainableHealth of Seniors (Schouela CEDurable), emphasizes thatthe aim is to enhance longevity in good health (healthspan)rather than length of life (lifespan), which is too often promoted by private companies such as longevity clinics. Laboratories in OverdriveLongevity research draws on the work of Carlos Lopez-Otin, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biologyat the University of Oviedo, Spain, who identified ninemechanisms of aging in 2013. Ten years later, he identified three more. Cell senescence is one of the bestknown. Senescent cells, or “zombie cells,” build up inthe body with age instead of being eliminated. They secrete toxic substances that are involved in the emergenceof age-related diseases. Senolytic medications, whichflush out senescent cells, are already on the market. Initially used to fight cancer, they are now undergoingclinical trials on patients who have age-related diseases. Concrete advances are also taking shape to counterthe depletion of stem cells, which causes organs to deteriorate. Clinical trials led by Dr. Joshua Hare, a cardiologistand professor of medicine at the University of Miami anddirector of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, treated the fragility of elderly people by injecting them withstem cells from young, healthy donors. The results included progress in terms of walking speed and muscle strength, reduced inflammation, and even temporaryimprovement of quality of life, without significant sideeffects. The next step is to optimize the dosage in collaboration with Longeveron, a biotechnology companyco-founded by Hare, in order to obtain FDA approval. Cellular reprogramming remains a future pathway. In 2012, the Japanese physician and researcher ShinyaYamanaka received a Nobel Prize for converting adultcells into pluripotent stem cells (which can differentiate into any type of the body’s cells). Given the difficultiesaround ethics approval and the risk of inducing cancer,scientists are targeting one organ instead of reprogramming the entire human body. In Japan, monkeys withParkinson’s disease had their own stem cells injected into their brains. Because the results were so positive, a similar trial has been conducted on humans. “The ideais to repair aging organs with the patient’s own cells,”Laurent says. Biotechs and BillionairesA number of these scientific advances led to the creation of biotechnology companies, which have sparked interestin the finance community, such as the billionaires ofSilicon Valley in southern California. According tothe website Longevity Technology, which tracks financingcampaigns in the sector, investments doubled between2023 and 2024, reaching around $8. 5 billion. TheUnited States dominates the market, with 84 per centof transactions. California Life Sciences LLC (Calico), a subsidiary ofGoogle founded in 2013, is one of the giants in the sector. Known for its slogan “Limitless Possibility Lives Here,” it develops anti-aging therapies in partnership with thelaboratory Abbvie. In 2022, another giant, Altos Labs,attracted renowned researchers to work on cellularreprogramming. However, no innovations have beenmarketed yet. Gaining 30 YearsCan science really help you live longer? “Epidemiological studies, parallels with experiments on animals, anddata on human aging show that there are 30 years to playwith in terms of human life expectancy,” Simard says—three extra decades to enjoy life in top form, from age70 to 100. Duque believes that science has already significantly slowed aging: “At the moment, 70 is the new40, and many people are living to 100 and more. We havebegun to reverse aging, and this will be done even more in the future. ”