Josh Mitteldorf, polymath and independent longevity researcher

Who we're talking about: Josh Mitteldorf, a smart and independent longevity researcher. Mitteldorf is a former child prodigy, and went to study physics at a young age at Harvard University. He eventually got his PhD in astrophysics. After some time in that field, his interests gradually shifted to biology, and specifically, to aging.

Today, Mitteldorf works without any formal academic or corporate affiliation, though he has lectured extensively at places like Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT. He also collaborates with top university professors in the longevity field, including UCLA's Steve Horvath, one of the authors of the mouse/pig study above.

A different way of looking at aging: A long-standing view of aging is that it is the accumulation of damage. But Mitteldorf's theory is that aging is not accidental — but is programmed self-destruction.

When Mitteldorf proposed this theory some 25 years ago, it was considered fringe. Today, it's mainstream. We have lots of evidence that signaling molecules in the blood tell the body to ramp up formerly beneficial processes, such as inflammation, autoimmunity, and cell death, until it slowly kills us.

“Programmed self-destruction” might sound depressing, but it's but actually good news. In Mitteldorf's own words:

And the news is: Mitteldorf has just published one of his occasional, always interesting and thoughtful articles on longevity science. In this particular article, he actually talks about a likely candidate for those signal molecules that tell the body to get to a more youthful state. In case you’re interested, you can read Mitteldorf’s article here.