Tag Archives: reproductive longevity

We’re Not Programmed To Die — So What’s Really Driving Agi

We’re Not Programmed To Die — So What’s Really Driving Aging?

Aging is not a preordained program locked in our DNA – that’s one of the eye-opening messages Nobel laureate Venkatraman “Venki” Ramakrishnan delivered at the Milan Longevity Summit 2025. Ramakrishnan, a structural biologist renowned for uncovering the ribosome’s structure (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009) and author of Why We Die, provided evidence-based insights into the biology of aging that debunked popularized “anti-aging” myths. In a field awash with hype and hope, his perspective, firmly grounded in evolutionary biology, challenges many mainstream longevity narratives while affirming where legitimate progress is being made.

From why evolution “does not care” about longevity to why no miracle cure for aging exists (yet), the Nobel laureate’s recent discussions provide a reality check on what science tells us about extending life. The main takeaway: Longevity science is advancing, but claims of age reversal require scrutiny, and the most potent tools at our disposal might just be the fundamentals often overlooked.

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What’s Next?: The 2023 Industry Trend Report for Healthcare Disruptors and Early Adopters

In 2023, the US healthcare industry is again facing several significant challenges, including ongoing high inflation rates, labor shortages, and the persistent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite continued difficulties, leaders in the space are working to find innovative solutions to improve the current system while looking ahead at the promising future of medicine that appears to have already arrived.

From artificial intelligence-based medicine to breakthroughs in precision neuroscience, we outline key trends expected to shape the healthcare landscape in 2023 and beyond.

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Canceling Menopause: Longevity Science Challenges The Reproductive Status Quo

Society has long accepted the natural decline of fertility and the onset of menopause as an inevitable part of life for women. An increased risk for age-related disease, disability, and cognitive decline, that just comes with the territory. However, the status quo of shifting hormone levels accompanied by cumbersome symptoms ranging from relatively mild (night sweats, irregular bleeding) to potentially fatal (heart disease, dementia) is now being questioned.

Humans are unique in that we are one of only five species that experience menopause and the only one that lives on land. Our closest cousins, chimpanzees, do not stop their reproductive cycles until near death. So why must we?

The truth is, there is no fundamental biological reason that requires women to begin losing the eggs essential to their future fertility before they even exit the womb. From 7 million eggs at 26 weeks of gestation down to 1 million at the time of birth, the number of eggs females carry begins to decrease exponentially, dwindling to 1,000 by age 51.

It’s worth noting that egg quality decreases with age, too: chromosomal defects increase by 0.5% each month after 35 years old, so a woman in her early 40s will likely have abnormalities in three-quarters of her remaining eggs.

While in utero and weighing approximately six large carrots (760g), a female’s fertility peaks. But does that make any evolutionary sense?

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