We may (probably) end all diseases within a decade 😮😮

Hi and happy Thursday! Here is this week’s longevity news.

We may end all diseases within a decade. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind.

Demis Hassabis: So on average, it takes, you know, ten years and billions of dollars to design just one drug. We can maybe reduce that down from years to maybe months or maybe even weeks. Which sounds incredible today but that's also what people used to think about protein structures. And it would revolutionize human health, and I think one day maybe we can cure all disease with the help of AI.

Scott Pelley: The end of disease?

Demis Hassabis: I think that's within reach. Maybe within the next decade or so, I don't see why not.

One In Four Young People In The World Feels Lonely. This survey, which interviewed people aged 15+ in 142 countries found that about 25% of respondents between feel "very lonely" or "fairly lonely." While the coronavirus pandemic increased the feeling of isolation for many people, this data suggests that loneliness continues to afflict a high number of people, even now lockdowns have passed. Loneliness can have serious health implications, with social isolation having been linked to an increased risk of several chronic diseases, such as diabetes and dementia, as well as mental health disorders including anxiety and depression.

Living Near Golf Courses May Double Parkinson's Risk, Study Finds. This case-control study analyzed data from more than 400 residents living with Parkinson’s and more than 5,000 matched controls across southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, from 1991 to 2015. The findings showed that those living within one mile of a golf course had more than twice the odds of developing Parkinson’s compared to those living more than six miles away. While the study did not measure the type of pesticides used at the golf courses, the authors wrote that studies have linked pesticides used to treat golf courses with the development of Parkinson’s.

Scientists identify specific cognitive skill linked to longer life in older adults. A new study found that not all aspects of intelligence are equally tied to how long people live. While it has long been known that smarter individuals tend to live longer, researchers using data from the Berlin Aging Study found that one specific ability—verbal fluency—stood out. People who could quickly name animals or words beginning with a specific letter tended to live significantly longer than those who struggled with these tasks. In fact, higher scores on these tasks predicted nearly a nine-year difference in median survival time.

What’s next?

Next week I will share with you my NAD+ results after doing 60 days of intermittent fasting.

For any new readers: I am trying to live to (at least) 151. To get there, I follow 2 main principles:

• Live a super-healthy life (based on what science deems positive for longevity)

• Measure what’s going on in my body and tune any metrics that are off to become optimal

I also summarize interesting news and stories from the longevity space. And I share everything worth sharing with you.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I would be very grateful if you gave it a ‘like’ (the ❤️ at the top).

Have a good day,
Johan

Here is an overview of all the tests I have taken so far: