Here is the transcript for those who missed that easily-overlooked link: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=408025154 http://www.np

Here is the transcript for those who missed that easily-overlooked link: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=408025154 http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story... "Things that have only a 50 percent chance of happening in 20 years from now are supposed to sound like science fiction." This interview with de Grey is one part of a longer piece with other interviews: http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/408023272/the-fountain-of-youth http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/408023272/the-fou... Of which the one with Cynthia Kenyon is also interesting, particularly as a contrast on fundamental philosophy and strategy in the approach to treating aging as a medical condition: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=408027400 http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story... --- Aubrey de Grey is the cofounder of the SENS Research Foundation and coordinator of rejuvenation research programs. Cynthia Kenyon worked on single gene manipulations that extend nematode longevity back in the 1990s, efforts that arguably kicked off the modern wave of interest in slowing aging. In these two short interviews you can see illustrated the most important division in the modern work aimed at intervention into the aging process: on the one hand the mainstream approach of altering the operation of metabolism so as to slow down aging, based on traditional drug discovery methodologies, and on the other hand the radical, disruptive approach of repairing the damage caused by the normal operation of metabolism, requiring the development of new biotechnologies. The strategy here is to avoid changing the operation of metabolism, because that is very hard and far too little is known of the important details, but rather periodically clean up the consequences of normal metabolic activity in order to prevent that damage from overwhelming and altering biological systems so as to cause degenerative aging. I'm greatly in favor of the latter approach because all the signs suggest it should be far more efficient and effective at extending healthy life spans, not to mention producing actual rejuvenation in the old. You can't greatly help the old by slowing down aging: better technologies are needed. Rejuvenation is needed. You can't bring aging under medical control by working on metabolic alteration to slow aging. Repair is needed, not merely dialing down the pace of new damage.