The Great Longevity Misconception

NOMIX

September 25, 2023

Fountain of youth, eternal life, immortality – most people associate longevity with these terms. But at its core it is about something else: the goal of longevity is not the maximization of quantitative lifespan, but the highest possible quality of life. Healthspan instead of lifespan is at the center of longevity research and development. Once this misunderstanding has been cleared up, there is nothing to be said against longevity – all people want to be able to enjoy life as long as possible, healthily, and actively.

When Harvard University research biologist and epigeneticist David Sinclair titled his 2019 debut book and subsequent bestseller Lifespan – Why We Age, and Why We Don’t Have To, he probably calculated a contradiction to that effect. His research, however, like that of most scientists in the field, is primarily aimed at keeping the human organism healthy for as long as possible. A lifestyle influenced by many epigenetic factors strengthens the body’s immune system, thereby reducing the risk of disease and slowing down the aging process. This epigenetic influence subsequently leads to a higher life expectancy, which, however, is the result of a lifestyle optimized by research findings, but not the primary goal. Man’s highest good is his health – and maintaining this for as long as possible is the endeavor of longevity research.

The Longevity Trend

The term longevity has been on everyone’s lips for a few years now: alternating with quantum computing and AI, longevity takes the lion’s share in the technology and innovation categories of the media. Billionaires are founding and promoting start-ups and research centers, pharmaceutical companies are opening longevity divisions, doctors’ surgeries are transforming into “well-aging” centers and an already unmanageable variety of longevity supplements are wooing the inclined consumer. There is no shortage of longevity offers – only the selection of the right product, the best possible treatment or the most sensible lifestyle change presents the individual with a challenge. People interested in longevity who want to positively influence their healthspan sooner rather than later must currently either dive deep into the relevant research reading and become longevity experts, or follow general advice from the media or their circle of friends.

The Missing Data Problem

What is missing is individualization, i.e. personalized advice on lifestyle adjustments, taking supplements, or more advanced longevity applications, such as blood plasma cleansing or reprogramming of body cells. To achieve such individualization, it is necessary to collect and process a large amount of health data – provided by as many genetically and epigenetically different people as possible, including the effects of the epigenetic lifestyle adjustments to be studied. Without this data, no sufficiently precise statements can be made about the effectiveness of longevity products, treatments, and lifestyles. Today, such data are only sporadically available, measured in small non-representative groups of humans, or – in larger numbers – animals (mostly mice). As long as this data gap exists, only cautious and general statements can be made about the effectiveness of longevity approaches, but by no means are precise statements tailored to the individual.

Longevity – Individual and Personal

The data described must therefore first be procured. Procurement takes a long time and is typically very time-consuming and expensive. With NOMIX, we are facing exactly this Herculean task: We are convinced that we have developed a well-suited method to obtain and analyze data on the current health conditions of as many different people as possible and their changes depending on longevity measures. The data is collected via our BIOCOACH app and supplemented via additional measures such as blood samples, etc. Interested BIOCOACH users take part in regularly conducted studies and tests in which longevity measures and their effects on the participants are collected. All data flows into CODIS, the collective digital immune system. Here, the data is analyzed on the basis of current longevity research with the help of artificial intelligence. The results are presented to the users of the BIOCLOCK app as individualized longevity advice. The BIOCOACH offers each user her personal longevity lifestyle and accompanies her in optimizing her longevity strategy.

AI-supported Longevity Strategies

The CODIS database is built up and delivers a higher evaluation quality with increasing data volume with regard to the resulting longevity factors. At the start of the BIOCOACH app, therefore, only general advice can be given – the BIOCOACH does not yet operate at an individualized level. The more people use the BIOCOACH App and the more actively the individual users participate in studies and tests, the faster this level will be reached. In addition, many users can also significantly improve their lifestyles with more general advice, so that the NOMIX team assumes individually perceptible successes of BIOCOACH App use for the individual right from the start.

The BIOCOACH app will be launched in 2024 – interested users can register on our NOMIX website to participate in the app test in a closed user group. We look forward to seeing you!

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