Stomach biota
I read an article in Science (New poo, new you? Fecal transplants reverse signs of brain aging in mice By Rachel Fritts Aug. 9, 2021 , 11:25 AM). It discusses new research on the stomach biota and one species, in pacticular, Enterococcus which has been shown to reverse aging in mice. Peter has mentioned the stomach biota in passing in a few podcasts but I would like to hear a deep dive into it and probiotics. Bob: You have to ask Peter if he wants us to eat shit and live.
Bioelectricity and longevity
I'd love to hear Peter's thoughts on the incredible progress in the field of bioelectricity. To illustrate what I mean, Michael Levin (Tufts University, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XheAMrS8Q1c) has shown that all cells (eukaryotic, prokaryotic) behave like neurons although much more slowly (hours instead of seconds) using voltage-gated ion channels and gap junctions. Therefore, they communicate using electricity to make collective decisions about growth and shape (i.e. what organ they should become, what shape they should morph into next), and one can use bioelectric signaling to change the "goals" of these cells. What is remarkable about bioelectricity studies is that before a change occurs in an organism (e.g. before a tadpole becomes a frog, before a group of cells become an organ, before a group of cells become cancerous), there is electrical communication between these cells, and they produce a bioelectrical field/pattern that, if decoded, allows us to understand the common goal they are working toward and how we might be able to change it. Levin has showed in several models (planaria flatworms, tadpoles and frogs, human mesenchymal cells) that he and his lab (other labs as well) can learn how to tweak the bioelectrical patterns of these cells to make them to do several things—even cancer cells becoming healthy once more, without ever acting on the genetics. This resulted in outlandish results such as making planaria (flatworms) grow two heads, making planaria grow heads of different worm species separated by 150 million years of evolution, making frogs grow eyes on their abdomens, making them grow extra limbs etc.—without ever manipulating any genes whatsoever. He has even created "xenobots" from frog skin cells, which are living organisms that, if you sequenced their genome you would think they are frogs as they are 100% wildtype, but instead, they are a cluster of frog cells that have new goals and fully novel behaviors, making use of the frog anatomy they have (cillia from frog skin etc.) Levin's and other labs have shown that bioelectricity is the next generation of biomedical therapies, where we might one day be able to just specify the bioelectrical pattern for a particular cluster of cells (using pharmacological or optogenetic means) and they will simply go on to do what we tell them to do, so we won't have to individually act on all the transcriptional pathways necessary to bring about that outcome. My question is: as this is arguably a level of "computation" which is upstream from epigenetics, why is it that we do not talk about this in longevity research AT ALL? Sinclair's information theory of aging is elegant, but it's still downstream of this "bioelectricity" domain. Does Peter have any thoughts on the implications of bioelectricity and "cracking the bioelectrical code" as it pertains to longevity? In other words, if one day soon we will be able to access an "aging subroutine" by using bioelectrical signaling without ever touching the genome and epigenome, isn't that the ultimate?
Personal fulfillment, psychological well being effect's on aging, and suicide
I'm a new member and retired psychologist, working my way back through the podcasts. You wisely recognize that mental and physical health are inseparable. You seem especially interested in the two topics of personal fulfillment and suicide. I have no questions, but want to offer a couple resources. On the topic of personal fulfillment and the impact of psychology on health and aging, best source is the 80+ year longitudinal Harvard Study of Adult Development. Dr. George Vaillant was the director for years, and I’d recommend his books, or as a guest if you can get him, or the current director of the study, Dr. Robert Waldinger. (First link below describes the study). I also highly recommend the psychologist, Dr. Sheldon Solomon, one of the three originators of "Terror Management Theory" (TMT). This is a meta-theory that has relevance to almost every aspect of human psychology and behavior, including personal fulfillment, and also suicide. TMT posits that insufficient buffers against existential (death) anxiety can paradoxically lead to suicide. Solomon always makes a great interview. (Second link below to bio/contact). I don’t know any of these guys, but have found their work very helpful. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/ https://www.skidmore.edu/psychology/faculty/solomon.php
Qualys and Request on Book
Okay I love the Qualys. I love the fact that you get right into the topic. What I am challenged with is the long disclaimer at the end of Qualys. I typically am riding my bike and I am listening to multiple episodes. Can you consider either dropping or shortening the disclaimer. (Especially the remarks about the conflict of interests). Alternatively as a paid member have a click the box on T+Cs agreeing to the disclaimer upon subscribing or renewal. Also I heard Peter talking about the length of his book. It is possible to offer his paid subscribers the un-abridged version. I am sure there is great information those 600 pages that will be truncated. Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Finding a more proactive and healthspan oriented physician
Any tips on finding a more proactive and healthspan oriented primary care provider? All of my routine visits to a primary care providers (I have been through a several) follow roughly the same template. Some boiler plate questions, some pokes and prods, some blood work that shows nothing abnormal, "Any problems?" "No", "Great, see you in a year". This is fine when I have a cold, but I'm getting more and more interested in disease prevention and aging well as I get older. Your practice seems to take a much more thorough and proactive approach to healthspan with patients that involves continuous glucose monitoring, body fat scans, sleep hygiene, nutrition and fitness advice and protocols, etc.. My question- how do I find a local primary care provider that does more of that and less of the standard template that I'm used to?