Is immortality within reach?

Dive into the promises and challenges of longevity research. [View in browser]( | [Your newsletter preferences](newsletter=wir) 05.06.23 Who wants to live forever? Maybe … you. If there’s one topic that WIRED’s Science team loves to kick around at pitch meetings, it’s the future of human lifespan. Not only are people living longer, but they’re staying healthier—and that’s made us wonder whether human immortality will ever be in reach. Our new four-part series explores the promises and challenges of longevity research. We’ve long scoured the lives of the super-long-lived for clues about how to live longer. (What’s the secret? Is it kindness? Abstaining from alcohol? Avoiding men?) But statistics show [this might be a fool’s errand](. Crunching the numbers reveals we’re potentially already at the limit of human lifespan. We’ve gone [inside a secretive life-extension clinic](, which became the first to inject a person—its CEO nonetheless—with a gene therapy to reverse the effects of aging. It claims the experiment was a success, but researchers aren’t so sure. Prices start at $75,000. No refunds. We’ve searched for [the lifespan secrets hidden inside one of the body’s least understood organs: the ovary](. This tissue ages faster than any other, and when the ovaries stop working at menopause, the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia rises. Now researchers are investigating whether forestalling menopause can push back the symptoms of aging itself. And we’ve tackled how [the modern world is aging your brain](. Everyone’s brain shrinks with age, an atrophy which accompanies cognitive decline. A new study shows that shrinking happens faster among people in the industrialized world—offering intriguing clues about what keeps the aging brain healthy. Go on, read them all. You’ve got plenty of time. [Portrait of the Kara Platoni] [Kara Platoni](, Senior Science Editor [Portrait of the Rob Reddick] [Rob Reddick](, Science Editor   [Overlapping clocks forming the shape of a human head ]( [The Quest for Longevity Is Already Over]( BY MATT REYNOLDS [Studying people who live well beyond the age of 100 could reveal the secret to living longer, healthier lives. But the statistics tell another story.](   [MRI Scan of a brain with lights blurred over one side of the scan]( [The Modern World Is Aging Your Brain]( BY MAX G. LEVY [In a remote part of the Amazon, anthropologists and neuroscientists are learning about life and health without an “embarrassment of riches.”](   [DNA molecule, computer artwork. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is composed of two strands twisted into a double helix. ]( [Inside the Secretive Life-Extension Clinic]( BY FRANK SWAIN [Longevity evangelists are injecting people with experimental gene therapies. There are no guarantees—and no refunds.](   [model of ovaries]( [The Secrets of Aging Are Hidden in Your Ovaries]( BY EMILY MULLIN [The ovaries age faster than any other organ in the body. Figuring out how to slow down that process could have health benefits for women—and men.](   You Might Also Like [Closeup of a greyhound dog]( [The Search for a Pill That Can Help Dogs—and Humans—Live Longer]( BY TOM SIMONITE [People have been searching for a fountain of youth for thousands of years. Celine Halioua thinks she’s found one—for canines. Be patient, we’re next.]( [T-Cell]( [The Case of the Incredibly Long-Lived Mouse Cells]( BY MAX G. LEVY [Scientists kept the rodents’ immune T cells active four times longer than mice can live—with huge implications for cancer, vaccination, and aging research.]( [brain in an hourglass emptying, then flipping over. ]( [You Could Live Forever With This Sci-Fi Time Hack]( BY JOSH WILBUR [In science fiction, time passes in funny ways—vastly slowed down, insanely sped up. Maybe this trope is the secret to eternal life in the real world.]( [Image may contain: Text]( [The Key to a Long Life Has Little to Do With ‘Good Genes’]( BY MEGAN MOLTENI [Alphabet's longevity lab Calico trawled through Ancestry's massive genealogy database to study human longevity—and found that DNA matters less than people have long believed.]( [GET WIRED]( [Get WIRED for just $29.99 $5. That includes subscriber-only content like Steven Levy's Plaintext column, plus free stickers!]([Subscribe now.]( [(image) WIRED Logo]( [(image) WIRED on Facebook]( [(image) WIRED on Twitter]( [(image) WIRED on Instagram]( [(image) WIRED on LinkedIn]( [(image) WIRED on YouTube]( [Podcasts]( Have questions or comments? [Reply to this email](mailto:hello@wired.com?subject=WIRED%20Newsletter%20Questions,%20Comments%20or%20Feedback). This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( or [Manage your newsletter subscriptions](newsletter=wir) Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.