David Sinclair plans to test whole-body rejuvenation drugs as part of an XPrize competition, aiming to prove that age restoration in humans is possible. The technology, called chemical reprogramming, involves using oral drugs to reset molecular controls on DNA, similar to the effects seen with embryonic genes.
The grand prize of $101 million will go to any team able to show a 10-year relative improvement after one year of treatment. Only time (and possibly mice) will tell if Sinclair’s vision becomes reality or just a fancy cocktail of chemicals.
While some experts are wary, others like James Clement from Betterhumans are already running clinical trials of oral reprogramming cocktails for Sinclair's XPrize team, potentially bringing us one step closer to a world where you can simply swallow your way back in time. Or at least feel younger.
The race is on, but the question remains: how do you define ‘younger’ when it comes to human biology? And will we be able to handle the ethical and societal implications of such a breakthrough?
