Can we really change the way we age? In this Click special, Lara Lewington travels to California to meet the tech entrepreneurs and scientists researching whether the ageing process can be stopped, or even reversed.

Highlights from the program:

Bryan Johnson

• "professional rejuvenation athlete"
• doesn't consider himself a biohacker
• strengthen pelvic floor to prevent getting up to use bathroom at night -> improved sleep
• uses a mu AGE Reader to measure level of Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs).

Eric Verdic - Buck Institute

• working on drugs to delay age-related diseases
• science as advanced, and have societal pressure as population ages
• only 7% of lifespan dependent on genetics
• most people could live to 95 if they followed all current advice for healthy living

Jamie Dananberg - Unity Biotechnology

• senescent cells - of course she called them zombie cells!
• long list of diseases that could be targeted with senolytics

Celine Halioua - Loyal

• large dogs - lifespan about half of that of smaller dogs
• drug inhibits protein they consider drives faster ageing
• drug could be available for dogs in 2025
• dogs share our environment and have similar age-related diseases, so more likely to translate than experiments in mice

Steve Horvath - The Clock Foundation

• GrimAge epigenetic clock (aka mortality risk predictor) can change with lifestyle changes
• can't tell what sort of disease people may come down with
• Lara's GrimAge 5 years older than chronological age, even though fitness age and PhenoAge was 7 years below 
• can calculate date of death - but don't give it out

Commentators

Jordan Shlain - Private Medical

• don't gamble with your health
  
• should try to wake up naturally

Danny Fortson - Sunday Times

• hard to find someone who isn't taking metformin even though not diabetic
• in US postcode is biggest predictor of longevity

Lara's conclusion: big breakthroughs aren't there yet - so live your healthiest life