Mar 2017 -  Many small advances in anti-aging, that can potentially extend the human lifespan, are constantly occurring. Here, as explained by the scientists behind them, are links to two such advances: young blood and genetic mutation.
  
Jan 2016 -  One premise of this website is that anti-aging research on various fronts will bear fruit within the next 10 to 15 years and that everyone, if they want to, will then be able to extend their lifespan indefinitely. Many people, including well known inventor and scientist Ray Kurzweil (Ref)(biovideo), believe this and are taking steps to ensure they see that day. I strongly agree with what Ray says in his video. If you are already reasonably healthy, it is  easy to make the life changes needed to live an extra 10 to 15 years. The recipe to do this is fairly simple. You need to do a moderate amount of exercise 3 to 5 times a week. You need to change your diet to include more fruits and vegetables, and less sugar, less refined carbohydrates, and less saturated fat. In addition to this you need to take a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and extra vitamin C and Omega 3 Fatty Acids (fish oil) on a daily basis. If you are over 45, occasionally taking a few anti-aging supplements (ex. DMAE, Acetyl-l-Carnitine, l-carnosine) once or twice a week can be helpful.

If you are over 60 and/or suffering from any specific aging related symptoms you may want or need to take additional supplements. Taking additional anti-aging supplements is helpful but it is easy to get carried away and go overboard. This has to be determined on an individual basis. Even if you are over 60, if you are more or less healthy, the extra cost of taking small amounts of too many supplements to do blanket supplementation may outweigh any small additional benefits you may get. This is especially true if you don't know what additional supplements you really need and what the best dosage for each supplement is. If you want take many supplements be sure to research all the possible supplement interactions and work out some sort of schedule to minimize this.

I looked at Ray Kurzweil's great list of 77 supplements. Personally I would skip the skin creams, the intravenous supplements, and the aspirin and Lipitor. Vitamin C, Niacin, garlic and a few of the other listed supplements, in the correct dosages, will help keep the LDL and HDL Cholesterol blood levels within a healthy range. It is best to keep things simple. If you are already healthy and are doing the basics, taking too many additional supplements may is not a bad idea but probably is not necessary.

Dec 2015 -  Currently the general political mood seems to be very favorable for anti-aging research.  There are no international recognized political programs to stop aging or extend life but since 2012 a few pro-immortality political parties have sprung up. Their aim is to support anti-aging and life extension research, and to help provide access to advances in these areas to everyone. Among the numerous organizations supporting anti-aging research, the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) organization has come up with an anti-aging research plan. They want to develop anti-aging therapies to repair most forms of cellular damage. SENS is a charitable organization. Any anti-aging advances resulting from funding it provides will become readily available public knowledge. In addition to the normal scientific research there is the $1,000,00 Palo Alto Longevity Prize that is being offered to anyone who can come up with an effective anti-aging treatment.

As of 2015, all known anti-aging treatments are only partially effective. Depending on when one starts a comprehensive anti-aging program, one can probably extend one's life by 10 to 25 years. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health estimated that an anti-aging lifestyle can add 24.6 more productive years to one's lifespan. Anti-aging knowledge increases at a rate of about 10 times every 10 years. This means that for most of us there should be more than enough time to reap the anticipated benefits in anti-aging research.

Nov 2015 -  Genetic engineering is the key to understanding and defeating the aging process because it can directly address the root causes of aging. Advances in this field are producing more and more practical results and all the tools needed to modify the human genome in any way we want are now in hand.  Advances in this area (CRISPR) allow DNA base pairs to be inserted or deleted at any specific place in our DNA. This means the human genome can now be precisely edited as needed. The lifespan of old mice has been modestly increased using telomerase gene therapy.

In humans, gene modification therapy has frequently been used for various medical problems. On September 15, 2015,  Elizabeth Parrish was the first human to undergo anti-aging gene therapy. Since the human genome is not fully understood, ethical questions concerning its modification have been raised (Ref). It takes no genius to predict that anti-aging treatments will now rapidly advance as our knowledge of the specifics of the human genome grows. 

Sep 2015 -  The issue of what the correct antioxidant supplement dosages should be requires a little more research.  Anti-aging theorists disagree on this issue.  We know that "excessive" level of antioxidants can be more harmful than helpful. Ideally anti-aging treatment should to be fine tuned on an individual basis. The key here would be to measure and minimize the cumulative effects of different kinds of stress on an individual basis. Easily measurable practical bio-markers for effects of various types of stress on the body do not yet exist or are not being used. When they are used it will be easy, through trail and error, to customize individual antioxidant supplement dosages so that everyone can have "optimum" levels throughout their life. "Optimum" levels would maintain a safe reserve of protective antioxidants in the body. 

Jan 2013 -  I consider some of Sierra Sciences advertising practices for TA-65 to be unethical and deceptive. The big issue I have is one of scientific honesty. The company genetically engineered mice that allowed telomerase to be switched off and on at an early age. TA 65 was able to switch telomerase back on in these mice and allowed them to live normal lives (Ref 1). Using this to show how effective TA65 treatment is, is dishonest. This is not how telomerase normally works and there was no real extension of the lifespan beyond what it would have been without the genetic modification. In normal mice the effects of TA65 were temporary and little or no life extension was seen (Ref 2).

That said, the product claims might eventually be proven to be true. These supplements may also have other health benefits. The advertising strategy may be a calculated guess that their product will really work. If it does the dishonest advertising will be forgotten. In the meantime I still  recommend waiting until this product receives more positive reviews and endorsements before spending a lot of money on TA-65. Read the Product B critical article "here we go again" (11/25/2014).