David Sinclair || Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To
The Psychology Podcast
iHeartPodcasts
4.4 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2021
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, I talk to world-renowned biologist David Sinclair about aging and longevity. David rejects the notion that the deterioration of health is a natural part of growing old and asserts that aging is a disease itself that we need to reverse. But how will a reset of our biological clocks affect our interactions, responses to adversity, morality, and how we live our lives? We discuss the ethical implications of limitless lifespans and also touch on the topics of death, evolution, genetics, medicine, and data tracking.
Bio
Dr. David Sinclair is a professor in the department of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of the scientific journal Aging. He is best known for his work on understanding why we age and how to slow its effects. In addition to being a co-founder of several biotechnology companies, he's the author of the book Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have To. Dr. Sinclair was listed by TIME magazine as one of the “100 most influential people in the world”.
Website: sinclair.hms.harvard.edu
Twitter: @davidasinclair
Topics
00:02:26 David’s “sticky beak” personality
00:05:08 David’s childhood and upbringing
00:10:21 The torment of inevitable death
00:15:13 David’s life purpose
00:22:06 Intergenerational interactions
00:28:59 Aging is a disease we can reverse
00:32:20 Accelerating human evolution
00:36:24 The SIR2 gene and the NMN+ pill
00:40:04 Reverse brain aging and Alzheimer’s
00:42:50 Gene therapy in pills
00:48:45 Will we be happier with longer lifespans?
00:52:49 Inside Tracker
00:55:31 The future of data tracking and medicine
01:00:47 The Information Theory of Aging
01:09:08 Is there a biological limit to our lifespans?
01:14:21 Mental states can produce epigenetic changes
01:20:39 David’s future projects
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Psychology Podcast. |
| 0:08.4 | In this episode, I talk to world-renowned biologists David Sinclair about aging and longevity. |
| 0:15.1 | David rejects the notion that the deterioration of health is a natural part of growing old |
| 0:19.5 | and asserts that aging is a disease itself that we need to reverse. |
| 0:23.3 | In this episode, we explore how a reset of our biological clocks could affect our interactions, |
| 0:28.4 | responses to adversity, morality, and how we live our lives. |
| 0:32.6 | We also discuss the ethical implications of limitless life spans and touch on the topics |
| 0:37.0 | of death, evolution, genetics, medicine, and data tracking. |
| 0:41.8 | This was a deeply personal episode as well as a highly scientific episode. |
| 0:46.0 | I think you can really see David's humanity in this episode and his high ambitions to advance |
| 0:50.7 | the human species. |
| 0:52.2 | This was a really fascinating chat for me, and I think David's research has enormous |
| 0:55.9 | implications for every single human on this planet. |
| 0:59.2 | So without further ado, I bring you David Sinclair. |
| 1:03.6 | Dr. Sinclair, so great to chat with you today. |
| 1:05.6 | Well Scott, it's a real pleasure. |
| 1:07.4 | I've followed you for many years, and it's great to finally meet you. |
| 1:11.2 | Yeah, it really is great, and I know we're going to have so much fun jamming on the intersections |
| 1:16.1 | between the brain, mind, and longevity today, so I've really looking forward to this chat. |
| 1:21.2 | I want to start off by asking you how old you feel inside. |
| 1:24.6 | Mentally, I feel about somewhere between six and twelve. |
| 1:30.1 | The six-year-old in me still wonders about the world, and I see the world with that kind |
... |
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