| I'm Ale Lampietti, and this is the special Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of tips and tricks to be immortal. New subscribers can sign up here; follow us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. Living forever used to be only for fantasy books and movies. These stories speak to our desires of preservation and our fear of death: Immortal vampires who fall in love with humans in the rainy forests of Washington. A young scientist in Transylvania who stitches together flesh and bone to create new life. Another who trades in his soul in the form of a portrait for everlasting beauty. And then the age-old story of executives who inject themselves with drugs purported to stop aging. Oh wait, that one isn't fantasy. Some tech investors and startup founders have been meeting weekly in New York to use grey-market peptides sourced from China, The New York Times recently reported. Unregulated imports like these (often labeled "not for human consumption") have skyrocketed in the last year, despite not being FDA-approved. So what do we know about the effectiveness of these peptide injections? Well, that's the problem. Gautum Mukunda explains that the FDA's approval system was designed around one question: Does this drug treat a disease? And the system should be rethought: "Interventions with genuine evidence face barriers because they don't fit disease categories while untested compounds proliferate with no quality control. And we learn nothing from the millions of people experimenting on themselves," Mukunda writes. Nothing is going to stop people from trying to enhance the way they look and feel. The Substance understands that better than most recent films. The main character injects herself with an unregulated compound, trusting a system that promises youth and beauty while quietly destroying herself in the process. What makes the film disturbing isn't how far-fetched it is but rather, how familiar it feels in a world where the elite are experimenting on their own bodies.
We have to resign ourselves to the fact that people are enhancing themselves and trying to live longer. And we should gather information about how people use these drugs to improve everyone's lives — and so that none of us become — actually, no spoilers here. Wannabe Dr. Frankensteins | I do have good news though: A small minority of people have genes that actually slow the aging process, according to a recent study. In fact, they're even less susceptible to age-related killers like Alzheimer's, heart disease and cancer.
And that's not just good news for the people with the genes but for people without them, too. "Researchers are beginning to unravel how these genes work and are trying to replicate their effects in the rest of us through drugs or other interventions," F.D. Flam writes. So for all you wannabe Dr. Frankensteins out there, you can play mad scientist with your own body instead — and in a much less horrific way. Scientists are working at tailoring medication and dietary advice toward an individual's genetic makeup. In fact, a recent study revealed that longevity is roughly 50% genetic and 50% environmental, a much higher genetic contribution than earlier thought, Flam says. That might explain why the world's oldest woman took up smoking at the age of 112 and then lived another decade. Some people do seem to do everything wrong — drink, smoke, eat sugar — and still live longer. Maybe soon we can all say goodbye to Dry January and hello to Nicotine November. Just kidding. This isn't your sign to drop all your healthy habits, of course. Research still shows that diet, exercise and sleep contribute to a long-lasting life. But if we can continue to research and find ways to help everyone live longer, healthier lives, we might just make the impossible fantasy a little more real. In case you have a few extra minutes... | Putin, Xi and Trump can't beat geography — Hal Brands How ICE is trying to rewrite the law — Noah Feldman 'AI Jesus' can't help you — Catherine Thorbecke Who really benefits from this tax refund increase? — Justin Fox
Notes: Please send the location of the Fountain of Youth and feedback to Ale Lampietti at alampietti@bloomberg.net.
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