Good Morning,
Technology could hold the key to making longevity a practical reality, accelerating our understanding of aging and how to reverse it. Its power to crunch numbers, build networks and bring us together is powering new longevity therapies.
In the investment world, biotech is big business, and in the medical world, technology has become a component of almost every new therapeutic. Today, we’ll look at some of the ideas and the people behind this new tech renaissance.
Tech giants make giant bets on longevity
Famous, wealthy tech entrepreneurs are using their resources to try to unlock the secrets of immortality.
Major players like Mark Zuckerberg, who is exploring optimized sleep, and Bryan Johnson, whose whole life is an ongoing experiment with longevity therapeutics, are pushing the envelope of what is possible today.
In areas like disease prediction and compound discovery, technology solutions including AI and blockchain are being used to speed up research and expedite the creation of new treatments by crunching vast amounts of data and spotting previously hidden patterns in the numbers.
This is more than just billionaires playing with the latest medical advancements, these pioneers are creating and testing solutions which may one day make it into the mainstream.
How technology is reshaping our approaches to ageing and longevity
The World Economic Forum has examined how tech is helping the elderly, who are increasingly comfortable with innovations.
Whether this is connecting otherwise lonely people, or providing tailored age related disease treatments, technology is being leveraged not just to create medicines, but to address some of the lifestyle challenges we all face as we grow older, including access to healthcare.
For many people, the benefits of technology are about day to day life, and simple, effective use of tech, rather than complex, moon-shot systems. In fact, many of the things we now take for granted, like video calling or remotely accessing doctors, are actually helping to extend longevity.
What do we mean by “longevity technology” exactly?
Early longevity tech has focused on devices like wearables to monitor our bodies, and epigenetic clocks that show us the difference between our biological age and chronological age, but increasingly sophisticated products and services are coming to market continually.
This is a great introduction to the many types of tech out there, breaking down each category in this complex new area. From building systems to test blood biomarkers to kits that measure telomere length this is a fast growing sector of longevity.
Crucially, this article makes the point that new technologies must meet four important criteria for mass uptake – affordability, accessibility, reproducibility and modifiability. Looking ahead to true mass market adoption, the game is all about making things easy to use, cheap and flexible.
In this newsletter, we’ve embarked on an enlightening journey through the interplay of technology and longevity. From high-profile tech magnates investing in age-defying solutions, to the subtle yet profound impact of daily tech tools, the landscape of aging is being reimagined. As we look forward, the emphasis is on affordability, accessibility, and adaptability.
Tomorrow we’ll be looking at the investment world, and examining some of the most promising longevity investments and how they plan to change the world.
Happy Monday,
The Longr Reads Team.
“Ageing is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength”
Betty Friedan, Writer and Activist
