The antiaging world exists far beyond the laboratory. There is a booming business around lifespan extension, chock full of sleek products sold in minimalist packaging promoted on Instagram feeds.
Aging research is stigmatized by fakes who try to sell products and make money, says Richard Miller, professor of pathology at the University of Michigan and director of the Paul Glenn Center for Biology of Aging.
There is a faint stench of charlatanism, Miller suggests, that taints researchers who are doing quality research.
“People have a fantasy that if you just stop eating, and become calorically restricted, you’ll live a long time. It’s the same fantasy that if you could just flap your arms fast enough, you could fly,” he says.
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The line between science and pseudoscience can be blurry. When those lines are drawn by top scientists, with deep financial ties, parsing hope from hype, fact from fiction, is a challenge for even a well-trained scientific eye.
Aging is a murkier area than most other fields of science, with pioneers selling berry-based supplements and top-notch computational biologists banking on young blood.
Will the result be a product that can successfully extend people’s lifespan? Only time will tell.
