Do you want to live forever? Immortality may be closer than you think. Forever Young has researched the sport, which not only increases life expectancy, but also creates a genetic reality that keeps us young for longer. This growing field of research and experimentation views aging as a disease in need of a cure. The film introduces us to several individuals who are at the forefront of this mission.
After her young son was diagnosed with diabetes, Liz Parrish stumbled upon information about genetics and their role in determining our predispositions to the disease. She believes that not enough is being done to cure the root cause of death and disease: aging. Taking a scientific and biological approach to this conundrum, she injected herself with a substance designed to lengthen the tips of chromosomes. These spikes, called telomeres, shorten throughout life, slowing down cells’ replication. This is the impetus for declining health, function, and appearance.
These experiments are still in their infancy, and much work is needed before they are suitable for widespread human testing, but they are emblematic of a broader search for the modern fountain of youth. Those efforts came together at RAADfest, an annual conference dedicated to the lucrative antiaging industry. Here, scientists and entrepreneurs meet investors eager to back the next breakthrough in anti-aging technology.
With no apparent conclusive evidence, there is currently no definitive cure. At the heart of these breakthroughs is understanding how and why we age, a process for which there is currently no overwhelming consensus. Potential remedies range from cell stimulants to drug therapy. Companies are jumping on the anti-aging bandwagon like never before, as more experiments succeed in extending the lifespan of lab mice and other mammals. On the biotech front, filmmakers will have unprecedented access to Calico Life Sciences, one of the world’s best-funded laboratories dedicated to the science of aging.
Life expectancy has doubled in the last century. Forever Young shows what it takes to keep that momentum going for the next century.
