Longevity Science Is Having Its Moment --- Incoming president's picks for the country's top health jobs have ties to the antiaging field now edging into the mainstream

"Longevity enthusiasts are ascendant in the second Trump administration.

The incoming president's picks for the country's top health jobs have ties to the longevity field and in some cases have been customers themselves. Scientists and entrepreneurs say they hope the new administration will make it easier to develop antiaging treatments and boost research funding.

Such changes would further expand a once-fringe industry now edging into the mainstream. The field still has plenty of detractors, but longevity practices from supplements to IV drips to off-label drug use have become more common, boosted by health podcasters, fitness bros and some traditional doctors.

"The science around aging has hit a tipping point where it's too big and too exciting for any government to ignore," says James Peyer, chief executive of longevity biotech Cambrian Bio and board director of a longevity biotechnology nonprofit.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said on a 2023 podcast he follows an antiaging protocol, adding that he takes too many vitamins to list. On an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast that same year, Rogan told Kennedy that he had taken NAD+, a supplement popular among longevity enthusiasts, and Kennedy replied, "I did all the same stuff."

Bryan Johnson, the biohacker whose extensive longevity regimen is featured in a new Netflix documentary, says he is eager to help make America "the healthiest country in the world" and that Kennedy is a friend. Johnson, whose motto is "Don't Die," posted a photo of himself and Kennedy on X days after the presidential election with the caption "MAHA," short for Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" slogan.

Jim O'Neill, Kennedy's proposed deputy, was founding board member and former chief executive of SENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit that funds antiaging research. He said in a 2020 podcast interview that the group was trying to develop drugs to "reverse aging, not just slow it down," and criticized regulatory roadblocks to medical innovation.

Johns Hopkins University surgeon Marty Makary, Trump's pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, has also won support from big names in the longevity field. Longevity scientist David Sinclair said on X that Makary was "a great pick" and reposted a Fox News interview in which Makary said there was scientific evidence supporting reversing or slowing the aging process.

Kennedy, O'Neill and Makary didn't respond to requests for comment.

Longevity researchers, entrepreneurs, and health enthusiasts who follow antiaging practices have a long wishlist for an administration they hope will be friendly. That includes helping fast-track the drug approval process, boosting research funding and incentives, and emphasizing preventive care.

Dave Pascoe, a biohacker who competed in Bryan Johnson's contest to see who can age the slowest, hopes to see more government support for nontraditional therapies like peptides and stem cells, and for aging itself to be treated as "an avoidable, pathological condition."

There is no drug approved by the FDA to treat human aging, and the agency doesn't currently classify aging as a disease. Longevity researchers would like the new administration to make it easier to bring such drugs to market. 

Studies measuring whether a treatment could extend a healthy lifespan are expensive and can take decades to conduct.

"There is an opportunity to reduce the time to the clinic by, in my estimation, at least a half," says David Gobel, co-founder and chief executive of the Methuselah Foundation, which spun out the longevity nonprofit that O'Neill led, now called the Lifespan Research Institute.

Longevity scientists are also working on identifying so-called surrogate endpoints for aging, which are biological markers that can indicate a treatment is working without having to wait decades to find out.

More detailed regulatory guidance would help companies design and run trials more quickly and spur innovation, says Alex Colville, who co-founded longevity-focused venture capital firm age1.

Some are hopeful that under NIH director nominee Jay Bhattacharya, who currently heads a research center at Stanford focused on the economics of health and aging, more funding will go toward research on the basic biology of aging, rather than specific age-associated diseases. More than 70% of their grant dollars fund research on various forms of dementia, according to an overview of the agency's 2025 budget.

Eric Verdin, CEO and president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, says a good place for the agency to start would be to fund clinical trials like an ongoing study of whether the diabetes drug metformin can help fight aging in non-diabetic people. Metformin is one of the already-approved drugs many biohackers take off-label in hopes of living longer, healthier lives.

"Repurposing already approved drugs is one way that you can potentially find things that have additional benefits that aren't going to bankrupt the system," says Matt Kaeberlein, co-director of the Dog Aging Project and chief executive of healthcare technology company Optispan." [1]

1. Longevity Science Is Having Its Moment --- Incoming president's picks for the country's top health jobs have ties to the antiaging field now edging into the mainstream. Janin, Alex.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 15 Jan 2025: A12. 

 

Mirštantis Bidenas suspaudžia jo susitraukiančias rankas ant JAV inovacijų gerklės: JAV imasi naujų priemonių, kad apribotų Kinijos ir kitų šalių daugumos dirbtinio intelekto pažangą

  „JAV taiko kai kurias griežčiausias priemones, kad apribotų Kinijos ir ne tik jos pažangą dirbtinio intelekto srityje, reikalaudamos, kad įmonės gautų vyriausybės leidimą eksportuoti tam tikrą informaciją apie savo dirbtinio intelekto (AI) modelius ir įkurti dideles dirbtinio intelekto skaičiavimo priemones užsienyje.

 

 Taisyklės yra paskutinis Bideno administracijos postūmis, per daugelį metų stengiantis naudoti eksporto kontrolę, siekiant sustabdyti Kinijos ir ne tik jos pažangą lustų gamybos ir dirbtinio intelekto srityse, ir jos sukėlė kompanijų, įskaitant „Nvidia“, reakciją. Taisyklės nustato viršutines ribas, kiek pažangių AI lustų galima eksportuoti į tam tikras šalis, ir reikalaujama licencijos eksportuoti duomenis, kuriais grindžiamos sudėtingiausios AI sistemos.

 

 Kinijai, Iranui ir kitiems JAV priešininkams jau taikomi griežti šių lustų pardavimo apribojimai, o naujosios taisyklės numato išimtis 18 artimų JAV sąjungininkų ir partnerių grupei. Tai apima tokias, šalis kaip JK, Prancūzija ir Vokietija, sakė aukšto rango administracijos pareigūnas. Tačiau plati kategorija, kurią sudaro daugiau, nei 120 kitų šalių, įskaitant JAV sąjungininkus Artimuosiuose Rytuose ir Azijoje, susidurs su naujomis kliūtimis, kuriant didžiules dirbtinio intelekto kompiuterines priemones.

 

 Prekybos sekretorė Gina Raimondo, kurios departamentas prižiūri eksporto kontrolę, sakė, kad nauji apribojimai leido JAV skleisti savo technologijas visame pasaulyje, kartu išsaugant nacionalinio saugumo interesus, kuriems gali kilti pavojus, jei priešininkai galėtų panaudoti dirbtinį intelektą savo karinėms pajėgoms sustiprinti.

 

 Technologijų bendrovės pasmerkė šį žingsnį. Nedas Finkle'as, „Nvidia“ viceprezidentas vyriausybės reikalams, pirmadienio rytą dienoraščio įraše sakė, kad pasaulinei AI pažangai, kuri skatino pramonės augimą visame pasaulyje, „dabar iškilo pavojus“.

 

 „Šis didžiulis perteklius įvestų biurokratinę kontrolę, kaip kuriami ir parduodami pirmaujantys Amerikos puslaidininkiai, kompiuteriai, sistemos ir net programinė įranga visame pasaulyje“, – rašė jis. „Bideno administracijos naujoji taisyklė, bandydama paveikti rinkos rezultatus ir užgniaužti konkurenciją – naujovių gyvybę – kelia grėsmę iššvaistyti sunkiai iškovotą technologinį Amerikos pranašumą."

 

 Nors taisyklių poveikis nėra aiškus, jos grasino apriboti AI lustų pardavimą iš Nvidia, kuri sukūrė didelį verslą, tenkindama AI infrastruktūros paklausą tokiose šalyse, kaip Jungtiniai Arabų Emyratai ir Saudo Arabija. Bendrovės pareigūnai teigė, kad praėjusiais metais tikisi gauti beveik 10 mlrd. dolerių.

 

 Apribojimams taikomas 120 dienų komentavimo laikotarpis ir jie gali būti pakeisti, sakė Raimondo. Bendrovės taip pat turės metus laikytis taisyklių, taikomų duomenų centrams, kuriuose laikomi pažangiausi AI lustai, sakė ji.

 

 D. Trumpo administracijai ruošiantis perimti šias taisykles Vašingtone buvo karštai diskutuojama kelias savaites.

 

 Technologijos pramonės grupės griežtai priešinosi, jas dar prieš jas užbaigiant – tai retas visuomenės atmetimas. Tinklaraščio įraše „Oracle“, vienos didžiausių AI infrastruktūros operatorių, vadovas pavadino jas „visų taisyklių motina“.

 

 Taisyklės sulaukė didelio kai kurių Kinijos vanagų ​​palaikymo, nes ankstesni bandymai apriboti Kinijos galimybes panaudoti pažangias dirbtinio intelekto sistemas jiems atrodo netinkami. Ankstesni dirbtinio intelekto lustų ir lustų gamybos įrangos eksporto apribojimai sulėtino Kinijos pramonę, tačiau šalis ir jos įmonės rado išeitį – nuo ​​dirbtinio intelekto lustų kontrabandos iki inžinerinių gudrybių naudojimo, siekiant toliau tobulinti lustų gamybą.

 

 Jimmy Goodrichas, vyresnysis „Rand Corporation“ patarėjas technologijų analizės klausimais, sakė, kad taisyklės yra labai svarbios JAV technologijų lyderystei ir nacionaliniam saugumui. „Tai priklauso nuo to, ar, jūsų nuomone, superkompiuteriai, galintys treniruoti pažangiausias dirbtinio intelekto sistemas arba modeliuoti branduolinius ginklus, turėtų būti JAV ir artimose sąjunginėse šalyse, ar ne“, – sakė jis.

 

 Pagal naujas taisykles įmonėms, gaminančioms dirbtinio intelekto modelius, pvz., OpenAI ir Google, reikės eksporto licencijų, kad galėtų siųsti prie tų modelių pridėtus „svorius“ į daugelį užsienio šalių. Modelių svoriai yra slaptas padažas pažangiose AI sistemose, tokiose, kaip „ChatGPT“, skaitmeninių rankenėlių serija, kuri tiksliai sureguliuoja jų veikimą.

 

 Ribojimai nebus taikomi modeliams su svoriais, kurie yra viešai prieinami, iš kurių ryškiausi yra „Meta's Llama“ modeliai.

 

 18 artimų JAV sąjungininkų nesusidurs su jokiais lustų pirkimo apribojimais. Prekybos departamentas pranešė, kad mažesniems užsakymams iš klientų iš viso pasaulio – iki maždaug 1700 pažangių AI lustų – nereikės licencijos arba jie nebus įskaičiuoti į šalių lustų pirkimo viršutines ribas.

 

 Tai palieka klausimą, ar JAV ar jos sąjungininkų įmonės gali sukurti reikšmingus dirbtinio intelekto pajėgumus šalyje, patenkančioje į vidurinę zoną – nei patikima sąjungininkė, nei didžiausias priešas. Prekybos departamentas pasakė „taip“, bet su ribomis. Įmonės, kurios atitinka aukštus saugumo standartus, gali kreiptis dėl statuso, leidžiančio joms talpinti iki 7% savo pasaulinio dirbtinio intelekto skaičiavimo pajėgumų bet kurioje tokioje šalyje." [1]

 

1. U.S. News: U.S. Imposes New Measures To Limit China's AI Advances. Fitch, Asa; Lin, Liza.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 15 Jan 2025: A3.

Dying Biden Squeezes His Contracting Hands On the Throat of US Innovation: U.S. Imposes New Measures To Limit China's and Most of Other Countries' AI Advances

"The U.S. is imposing some of its strongest measures yet to limit Chinese advances in artificial intelligence, requiring companies to get government approval to export certain information about their AI models and set up large AI computing facilities overseas.

The rules are a final push by the Biden administration in a yearslong effort to use export controls to stem China's advances in chip-making and AI, and they have sparked a backlash from companies including Nvidia. The rules impose caps on how many advanced AI chips can be exported to certain countries and require a license to export the data that underpins the most sophisticated AI systems.

Strict sales restrictions on these chips are already in place for China, Iran and other U.S. adversaries, and the new rules carve out exemptions for a group of 18 close U.S. allies and partners. These include countries such as the U.K., France and Germany, a senior administration official said. But a broad category of more than 120 other countries, including U.S. allies in the Middle East and Asia, are set to face new hurdles in setting up huge AI computing facilities.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, whose department oversees export controls, said the new curbs allowed the U.S. to diffuse its technology across the world while preserving national-security interests that could be jeopardized if adversaries were able to harness AI to enhance their militaries.

Tech companies decried the move. Ned Finkle, Nvidia's vice president of government affairs, said in a blog post Monday morning that global progress in AI that fueled growth for industries around the world "is now in jeopardy."

"This sweeping overreach would impose bureaucratic control over how America's leading semiconductors, computers, systems and even software are designed and marketed globally," he wrote. "And by attempting to rig market outcomes and stifle competition -- the lifeblood of innovation -- the Biden administration's new rule threatens to squander America's hard-won technological advantage."

While the impact of the rules isn't clear, they threatened to limit sales of AI chips from Nvidia, which has built a large business out of satisfying demand for AI infrastructure in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Company officials said they expected to bring in almost $10 billion of revenue last year from so-called sovereign AI, where countries around the world increasingly see AI computing facilities as national assets.

The restrictions are subject to a 120-day comment period and could be modified, Raimondo said. Companies will also have a year to comply with the rules that apply to data centers where cutting-edge AI chips are housed, she said.

The rules had been hotly debated in Washington for weeks as the Trump administration prepares to take over.

Tech-industry groups came out strongly against them even before they were finalized, a rare public rejection. In a blog post, an executive at Oracle, one of the largest operators of AI infrastructure, called it "the mother of all regulations."

The rules drew strong support from some China hawks who saw earlier attempts to limit China's ability to harness advanced AI systems as inadequate. Previous rounds of export restrictions on AI chips and chip-making equipment have slowed China's industry, but the country and its companies have found workarounds, from smuggling in AI chips to using engineering tricks to continue advancing chip-making.

Jimmy Goodrich, a senior adviser to the Rand Corporation for technology analysis, said the rules were critical for U.S. tech leadership and national security. "It comes down to whether you think supercomputers capable of training the most advanced AI systems or modeling nuclear weapons should be in the U.S. and close allied nations or not," he said.

Under the new rules, companies that produce AI models -- the likes of OpenAI and Google -- would need export licenses to send the "weights" attached to those models to many foreign countries. Model weights are the secret sauce in advanced AI systems like ChatGPT, a series of digital knobs that fine-tune their performance.

The controls won't apply to models with weights that are publicly available, the most prominent of which are Meta's Llama models.

The 18 close U.S. allies will face no restrictions on purchases of chips. And smaller orders from customers around the world -- up to around 1,700 advanced AI chips -- won't require a license or count against caps on countries' chip purchases, the Commerce Department said.

That leaves the question of whether companies based in the U.S. or its allies can build significant AI capacity in a country falling into a middle zone -- neither trusted ally nor top adversary. The Commerce Department said yes, but with limits. Companies that meet high security standards can apply for a status that allows them to place up to 7% of their global AI computing capacity in any single such country." [1]

1. U.S. News: U.S. Imposes New Measures To Limit China's AI Advances. Fitch, Asa; Lin, Liza.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 15 Jan 2025: A3.