Is Age Reversible? – Peter Diamandis Sees It As Progress; I’m Not So Sure!

For American readers of the 21st Century Tech Blog, “ageing” is the Canadian spelling of aging, which is what this article is all about. Peter Diamandis of XPrize fame is fixated on this subject and in his latest email blast describes the coming age reversal breakthrough revolution.

I understand the desire to live a longer and healthier life, having turned 76 this year. But research into epigenetic reprogramming isn’t just adding ten years to the average lifespan. What those in this field are talking about is extending human lifespans to as much as 150 years.

The consequences of longer lifespans for the planet would be enormous. Besides contributing to increased population and environmental strains, the carrying capacity of the planet could become unsustainable if humans started living to age 150.

I leave it to you, however, to determine for yourselves if this line of research makes sense for our species and the rest of life on the planet as we face climate change, biodiversity loss, increasing freshwater and food scarcity, and rising levels of war.

This is Peter’s story, and for the most part, it is in his words with a few edits by me. I’m looking forward to receiving readers’ comments.

The age reversal breakthrough we’ve all been waiting for will soon be here, faster than I ever imagined. Dr. David Sinclair’s lab has cracked the code on epigenetic reprogramming, potentially moving from $400,000 gene therapies to $100 pills that can reset biological age by 50 – 95% in just four weeks. What started as a theory in 2017 became the proven science of epigenetic reprogramming in 2020, and now AI is accelerating development at unprecedented speed. As Sinclair puts it: “Imagine in 10 years you just take a pill three times per week for a month and you get younger.” This Moonshot is becoming a reality.

Why It Matters

From Gene Therapy to Pills: The Demonetization Revolution

Sinclair’s lab is using AI to accelerate the speed of discoveries and demonetize costs. The idea of epigenetic reprogramming was previously thought to require viral vectors or gene therapies, which could be expensive. But Sinclair, in using a host of AI tools, has yielded surprising results, discovering molecules that can be taken as a pill to reverse aging.

Sinclair states, “This would only cost a hundred dollars or less to make for a month’s course of treatment.” That’s roughly three dollars a day to potentially reverse decades of ageing.

The Mouse & Primate Studies That Change Everything

Earlier this year, Sinclair’s lab tried an experiment that delivered stunning results. Mice given an oral cocktail “Monday, Wednesday, Friday for four weeks” didn’t just feel younger. Quantitative biological age tests confirmed that they actually were younger. “All the mice that were on the treatment ended up behaving and being physiologically younger.”

In parallel to his work using “pills,” his team at Life Biosciences is also collecting primate data using viral gene therapy treatments that make this breakthrough undeniable. Working with green monkeys—our closest research analogs, Sinclair’s team has achieved something unprecedented: “95% of the age goes backwards” in optic nerve tissue. As Sinclair describes it, “some of the data is just stunning. You can map whether you reverse the age of the optic nerve in these animals.” The effect is controllable and semi-permanent: “The longer you leave it on, the younger the tissue gets,” and the rejuvenation persists even after treatment stops.

These aren’t mere lab curiosities. Primates share 93% of our DNA and have similar aging mechanisms. When age reversal works this dramatically in our closest biological relatives, human translation becomes not just possible, but probable.

Sinclair’s Vision for The Next Decade (2025 – 2035)

Sinclair’s vision for 2035 looks at three distinct delivery methods racing to market, each more accessible than the last.

 Method 1: Gene Therapy (2026): Sinclair’s co-founded company, Life Biosciences, enters human trials next January, targeting glaucoma and stroke in the eye. Gene therapies typically cost $300,000 to $400,000 per eye, potentially reaching up to $2 million for rare diseases. “The reason is that there are a lot of hurdles to get through to get to the market. And just producing this stuff is expensive,” says Sinclair, noting it’s “costing us more than $10 million just to make the first batch to go into humans.” But his mission is democratization: “My lab is in existence to make this for everybody. We’re not here to charge as much as we can. We’re here to make it, hopefully, eventually pennies on the dollar.”

Method 2: Gene Therapies Using Yamanaka Factors in Humans (2030s): A one-time injection makes you able to activate youth genes by simply taking an antibiotic for a few weeks. “Every time we want to get rejuvenated or we have an injury, we need to heal quickly, then we turn them on.” The system uses doxycycline, a safe antibiotic, to activate the engineered genes. “We’ve engineered it so you can just take an antibiotic (doxycycline) for a few weeks, it’s very safe, and you turn on the age reversal.”

Method 3: The Age Reversal Pill (2035): These pills are under development now and are likely to become available within the next 3 to 10 years. These are AI-designed or AI-identified molecules that can activate epigenetic cellular reprogramming. The pills have two major advantages. First, they’re cheap. Second, “they evenly go throughout the body to all the tissues” once swallowed. This is Sinclair’s ultimate target: accessible, affordable, comprehensive age reversal.

The Longevity Escape Velocity Timeline

While colleagues debate whether we’ll reach Longevity Escape Velocity by 2030, Sinclair focuses on the science stating, “Now that the Information Theory of Aging and the reset seem true, we’re entering the clinic with these age reversal technologies that can be used multiple times—not just once, but you can keep doing it maybe 20 times, 100 times.”

He stands by his earlier prediction, “The first person to live to 150 has already been born.” For a teenager born today, Sinclair states, “We can expect them to live well into the 22nd century.”

Are any of us ready for this? What are the social and economic implications? What will it mean to young people trying to get jobs in the future when retirement goes away? Will there be a wisdom benefit and better intergenerational connections? What about psychological concerns such as existential fatigue, a loss of purpose, or difficulties in adapting to a life 76.5 years longer than the global average of 73.5 years today?

Sinclair has yet to fully understand the implications of de-ageing. What about mutations and increased cancer risks when cells evade apoptosis, natural death?

We know two things about cancer cells: they are immortal (they don’t die), and because of that, they are dangerous.

And what about people living with chronic illnesses and disabilities, when taking a daily pill makes de-ageing possible?

Peter may see Sinclair’s research as desirable for human progress, but I’m not sure it is another Pandora’s box, producing an uncertain or even dangerous future for humanity and the planet.