IS AGING PROGRAMMED? I recently debated this with the brilliant Aubrey de Grey, moderated by Nathan S. Cheng thinks you should work on aging. at Vitalist Bay in Berkeley. Check it out! Here is a humorous trailer; the full video is linked below.

In this debate, we explored: The Damage Accumulation Perspective (Aubrey de Grey): Aubrey makes a compelling case for aging as an engineering problem – accumulated molecular and cellular damage, with evolution prioritizing reproduction over perfect maintenance. He challenges the idea of a deliberate "death program." The Programmed Aging Perspective (Yuri Deigin): I argued that aging is, in fact, a programmed process, largely driven by epigenetic changes. I view it as a continuation of developmental programs that eventually turn detrimental, with lifespan purposefully regulated for ecological niches. We discussed examples like diverse species lifespans, and organisms seemingly "withholding" longevity. Why does this debate matter? The answer has profound implications for how we approach and develop interventions to extend healthy human lifespan — whether we focus on repairing damage, or seeking to "reprogram" our biology.

Here’s the link to the full debate:

@aubreydegrey @realNathanCheng Congratulations to @aubreydegrey + @ydeigin - giants in the arena! Ad Immortalitatem!

@aubreydegrey @realNathanCheng Really curious what the purpose is here

My research shows that the essence of aging is a genetic program, driven by the operation of telomeres and rDNA through the P53 pathway, rather than the accumulation of damage. From the perspective of first principles, the lifespan of species is determined by the rate of telomere and rDNA array shortening. Recently, I published a paper titled "Causality of Aging Hallmarks" in the journal Aging and Disease. You can access the full article through this link:

@aubreydegrey @realNathanCheng Furthermore, our observations also revealed that the rejuvenation mechanism of hESCs and hiPSCs is not due to epigenetic reprogramming, but rather because the lengths of the telomere DNA arrays and the 45S rDNA arrays have significantly increased.

@aubreydegrey @realNathanCheng To me, it's obvious that aging is at least 50% developmental. Otherwise, how can appearance at any age be predicted to consistently and accurately?

@aubreydegrey @realNathanCheng What exactly do you mean? That there is a mind behind this? Obviously cells do what physics enforces. We *must* age given the current constellation of molecules.