November 29, 2015

EP. 98 — BONUS! Why You May Live To 150 And Never Feel Older Than 30

In Ron Howard’s 1985 movie ‘Cocoon,’ a group of elderly people living in a Florida retirement community become magically rejuvenated by aliens. It plays out as a fantasy, a hilarious what-if scenario about old people acting young. The movie seems more fiction than science, but in the 30 years since the film’s release, the branch of medicine devoted to curing aging has grown into possibly the next big thing.

Aging has only been a problem since the beginning of time, a disease born into us by the very nature of being alive, but scientists believe we’re not far off from therapies that could extend our lifespan by decades and keep us feeling like we’re in our 30s the whole time.

Jack O’Brien is joined by Laura Deming, a 21-year-old venture capitalist, who is funding the therapies of the future that will slow the process of aging. They discuss some of the breakthroughs in the field and Laura debunks some myths about current life extension treatments.

Jack is then joined by Fiona Ginty, a principal scientist at GE working on the microimaging of cells. Fiona shares how this technology will aid in the fight against aging as that process might be built into our DNA.

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