Basal human desires never change: to be positively unique, sexually desired, to live in luxury, to be popular, to hold power, and finally, to achieve immortality.
asserted
desires → change → immortality
The idea of eternal life can be found in almost every religious text, and even the world’s oldest surviving literary epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh, contains poems detailing Gilgamesh’s search for immortality after confronting the inevitability of death following the loss of his companion, Enkidu.
asserted
epic → find → companion
Nearly 4,000 years later, a hot microphone caught the presidents of Russia and China discussing whether advances in medicine and biotechnology might finally bring humanity closer to that ancient ambition.
uncertain
advances → catch → ambition
During the exchange, Russia’s Vladimir Putin spoke about advances in organ transplantation, while China’s Xi Jinping seemed cautiously optimistic, citing predictions that humans would be able to live up to 150 years of age this century.
asserted
humans → speak → age
Russia has reportedly directed billions of dollars’ worth of funding towards organ transplantation research and regenerative medicine.
uncertain
Russia → direct → research
In an era where genetic engineering and biological manipulation are possible, where actual artificial intelligence exists and space travel is a reality, how close are we to extending the human lifespan, and what is the science behind it?
asserted
science → exist → it
Enter longevity biotechnology
Unlike traditional pharmaceutical research, which historically focused on designing chemicals that interact with biological targets, biotechnology uses biological systems themselves to tackle various problems, including medical treatments.
asserted
biotechnology → enter → treatments
Over the years, biotechnology has become integral to healthcare, with the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, one of the world’s best-selling drugs, as an example of its success.
asserted
biotechnology → become → success
More recently, a subfield called longevity biotechnology has become incredibly fashionable.
asserted
subfield → call → ?
The aim is simple, even if the mission is not: to treat the underlying biological mechanisms of age-related diseases, resulting in increased healthspan (the period of life spent in good health) or lifespan (the period of time one is alive).
asserted
one → treat → time
The idea of treating ageing or age-related illnesses is nothing new.
asserted
idea → treat → ageing
The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, is said to have died from suspected mercury poisoning in his search for the elixir of immortality.
asserted
emperor → say → immortality
Skip ahead to the 1920s, when Alexander Bogdanov pioneered blood transfusions from the young to the old as a method to slow the ageing process (there is little proof that it worked).
asserted
it → skip → process
Numerous books and journals have since been published on tackling the ageing process in various ways, and companies have been founded to do the same.
asserted
companies → publish → same
Yet, in recent years, investment in longevity biotech has skyrocketed.
asserted
investment → skyrocket → biotech
A recent Forbes article called it the billionaire’s next big bet after artificial intelligence.
asserted
article → call → intelligence
In the first quarter of 2026 alone, longevity biotech companies raised approximately $3.74bn.
asserted
companies → raise → 3.74bn
Pharmaceutical companies are eager to see clinical trial results on longevity treatments.
asserted
companies → see → treatments
So, what has changed in the field to cause this hype?
asserted
what → change → hype
Discovering the hallmarks of ageing
asserted
Discovering → discover → ageing
In academic talks, the typical longevity speaker would ask the audience, “What is the commonality between a bowhead whale and a naked mole rat?”
asserted
commonality → ask → whale
Both have very long lifespans and are remarkably resistant to cancer.
asserted
Both → have → cancer
Comparing long-lived organisms with short-lived ones, and young members of the same species with old ones, lies at the heart of modern longevity research.
asserted
Comparing → compare → research
At the cellular and molecular levels, scientists now understand ageing within the context of twelve interconnected processes, collectively called the hallmarks of ageing.
asserted
scientists → understand → ageing
These include factors like genomic instability and chronic inflammation.
asserted
These → include → instability
Researchers have identified numerous genes that regulate such processes.
asserted
that → identify → processes
Manipulating them in animal models has improved measures of health and function in older animals.
asserted
Manipulating → manipulate → animals
In some cases, it has also significantly extended lifespan.
asserted
it → extend → lifespan
Repeated findings across different research groups and animal models have started to convince many investors and scientists that we might be on the cusp of something truly remarkable.
uncertain
we → start → something
AI and obesity drugs: Success fuels excitement for the next breakthrough
Tackling ageing is a grand undertaking, one that would have been predicted to take decades of scientific research and billions in funding.
asserted
that → fuel → funding
Grand challenges like this tend to come with cautious investment in companies attempting to solve them.
asserted
challenges → tend → them
Big, tough problems will require either a fantastic team of scientists or solid science that has been validated through and through.
asserted
that → require → scientists
Those do not come easily.
asserted
Those → come → ?
Yet, investments are currently overflowing into young longevity companies all over the world.
asserted
investments → overflow → world
This has something to do with the recent boom in the AI industry in general, and the fantastic financial success of obesity drugs in the pharmaceutical world.
asserted
This → have → world
There is a certain feeling that we are getting closer to breakthroughs in biology.
asserted
we → be → biology
Ageing is something that is literally experienced by every human being, and we are in an era where ageing populations are predicted to become larger burdens on their economies.
asserted
populations → experience → economies
If a breakthrough happens in the treatment of ageing, the profits will be more than enormous, and investors want to be there when it happens.
asserted
it → happen → ageing
It is linked to genetic and environmental factors, living standards, socioeconomic class, etc.
asserted
It → link → factors
Though obesity medicines have existed for a while, their effectiveness was generally modest and came with significant limitations.
asserted
effectiveness → exist → limitations
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
