The Science Behind Why We Age | Episode 1

Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair

Lifespan Communications LLC

Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.8K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2022

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Dr. David Sinclair and co-host Matthew LaPlante discuss why we age. In doing so, they discuss organisms that have extreme longevity, the genes that control aging (mTOR, AMPK, Sirtuins), the role of sirtuin proteins as epigenetic regulators of aging, the process of "ex-differentiation" in which cells begin to lose their identity, and how all of this makes up the "Information Theory of Aging", and the difference between "biological age" and "chronological age" and how we can measure biological age through DNA methylation clocks.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Athletic Greens - https://athleticgreens.com/sinclair
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Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/davidsinclair

Lifespan book: https://amzn.to/3sUqurT

Dr. David Sinclair Social:

To stay up to date with David's work to democratize biological age testing and insights, visit tallyhealth.com.

Matthew LaPlante's Social:

Twitter

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:03:14) Goal of the Lifespan Podcast

(00:07:11) Acknowledgement of Sponsors

(00:10:45) Aging is a Controllable Process that can be Slowed & Reversed

(00:16:42) Organisms with Extreme Longevity

(00:21:47) Genes that Regulate Aging: mTOR, AMPK, Sirtuins

(00:21:55) mTOR & Rapamycin

(00:24:33) AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) & Metformin

(00:30:57) Sirtuin Proteins as Epigenetic Regulators of Aging

(00:35:33) Ex-Differentiation

(00:43:30) Measuring Aging - Biological Age vs. Chronological Age

(00:49:30) "No Law That Says We Have To Age"

(00:50:33) Episode Summary & Key Takeaways - Why Do We Age?

(00:54:00) Information Theory of Aging

(00:57:59) Aging is a Medical Condition

(01:01:00) Aging Myths - Telomeres & Antioxidants

(01:01:55) Options for Subscription and Support

For the full show notes, including the peer-reviewed studies, visit the Lifespan podcast website.

Please note that Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair is distinct from Dr. Sinclair's teaching and research roles at Harvard Medical School. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

Special thanks to our research assistants, Adiv Johnson & Sarah Ryan.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Lifespan Podcast, where we discuss the science of aging and how to be healthier at any stage of life.
0:09.0	I'm David Sinclair. I'm a professor at Harvard Medical School. I run a research lab that studies aging,
0:17.0	why we get old, and why we may not have to. I've been there for 20 years, and we've made some breakthroughs we're going to talk about on this podcast.
0:25.0	I'm also joined by my lovely co-host, Matt LaPlan.
0:30.0	Lovely.
0:31.0	Talented, brilliant.
0:33.0	Reasonably talented.
0:34.0	Good looking.
0:35.0	You're a great writer. We co-wrote a book called Lifespan Together.
0:38.0	I'll take that compliment. Thank you.
0:40.0	And we've been really excited about the reception of this book, but we thought, why don't we spread the word?
0:47.0	Those of you who haven't read the book, that's fine. We're going to go into detail in this episode to give you a basis for what we're going to talk about in this series.
0:54.0	And if you have read the book, that's okay too, because so much has changed in the last three years since the book was published.
1:03.0	Right. So a little bit about you before we get too much into the weeds.
1:07.0	You're a writer. You used to be a reporter. You've been a war correspondent. What am I missing?
1:12.0	I'm a professor of journalism at Utah State University.
1:15.0	Right. It's not Harvard University, but it's the Harvard University of the Mountain West.
1:20.0	Anyway, you're brilliant at writing, and I certainly couldn't have written this book without you.
1:25.0	But this podcast, we actually talk a lot every week.
1:29.0	Yeah.
1:30.0	We're writing another book, which will be due out, we hope, probably next year.
1:35.0	Oh dear God.
	...

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