Shane: Marcus Aurelius said, “Death smiles at us all. All we can do is smile back.” And I feel like you get up in the morning and you look at the God of death and you simply say, not today.
David: I do that, actually. I do bounce out a bed thinking every day is a miracle, to be a functioning living organism. And I know that time is short. We live for, not even a blink of an eye in geological time. And so I live my life like that. Carpe diem is another motto that I would say to myself many times a day, actually. And working on aging and forestalling ill health and death certainly does act a motivating force. Not so much for myself, honestly. I’m not really afraid of dying, but I am aware that every day, over 100,000 people die from aging itself. And it’s something that I’d like to alleviate. If not extend lifespan by a century, what I would like to do is to at least have people live another 10, 20 years in good health.
Shane: What is aging, biologically speaking, and why is it a problem?
David: Well, if I have to tell you why it’s a problem, then we have a problem. It’s one of the largest costs to our economy, globally. It’s more sick care than healthcare. There’s a huge amount of suffering for the individual and of families. Anyone who’s seen someone die understands that it’s often not a pleasant process. And it can take many years, and the final moments are extremely stressful for everybody, and often painful. So that’s in itself enough motivation, but the economic reasons are really…Become a member to access the full transcript.