Why is longevity such a hard sell?

Investors have been sold snake-oil solutions to the ailments of old age to such an extent that the industry has been damaged. Aging is incredibly complex, yet many biologists have attacked its health problems by looking for therapeutics affecting the proliferation of cells in culture and other reductive phenotypes. The complex multiple pathologies of aging and their interdependencies with each other, and with functional health, are beyond them. Smart investors know there is no magic bullet. There are biotech start ups promoting 21st century science that they say is part of the path leading to the elusive fountain of youth, and these will be surveyed. But the important question is how can an investor differentiate the charlatans and no-hopers from real prospects? A very substantial part of the answer can be found in the raw computing power of the most ancient of all of life’s processes … evolution itself. For the past thirty years, evolutionary biologists have been using laboratory selection to turn short-lived animals into long-lived animals. By combining the raw computing power of evolution with leading-edge genomic tools, the systemic complexity of aging that has baffled biologists for so long can be overcome. Finally, we have the tools needed to manage the complexity of this risky aging business.

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