David Sinclair: The GLP-1 Side Effect No One Talks About, What AI Found in His Lab, and Reversing Blindness | Q&A EP #251

David Sinclair (0:00)

There's a lot to say about GLP-1s. More and more data is coming out showing benefits to the heart, the brain beyond just weight loss. There is one downside that I need to point out, besides what's known about risks.

We are working with companies and academics that do a lot of AI now. It's accelerating our work exponentially. AI-driven drug design and looking at billions and eventually, trillions of molecules to see which ones might reverse aging. We've done that already. And if anyone tells you AI can only do what we've taught it, that is the biggest bunch of BS you'll ever hear. My ancestors died in their 70s. My grandmother had a stroke in her 30s. So the fact that my father is now living in a healthy way beyond any of his ancestors probably ever is testament that you can really change what your genes have given you.

Peter Diamandis (0:46)

There's one thing that is the most powerful, your mindset. I think this is the most exciting time ever to be alive. I want to see as much of it as I possibly can.

SPEAKER_3 (0:57)

Now that's the Moonshot, ladies and gentlemen.

Peter Diamandis (1:02)

A rare opportunity here. I think we have about 25 minutes for Q&A or so. Sleep and exercise, I think you and I differentiate a little bit on that because I like sleep. For me, trying to get eight hours and I'm trying to be in the gym five days a week, you're not as, where do you stand on sleep and exercise?

David Sinclair (1:25)

I would be sleeping a lot more and exercising a lot more if I wasn't traveling on an aeroplane most of the time and in the lab. But I have a standing desk and I have a treadmill at home where I try to read and work while I'm walking at least. Movement is very important. So I used to work out a lot. I was a lot heftier. But you know, life is taking over.

Serena and I spent a lot of time traveling because we want to educate the world and we have the opportunity to meet world leaders and industry leaders. That's important for now to just help shape the industry.

Peter Diamandis (1:59)

You're on a mission.

David Sinclair (2:00)

It is a mission and I'm sacrificing my health for that.

Peter Diamandis (2:03)

That's what I say. Tom, let's kick it off with you.

Tom (2:08)

So in this goal for longevity and the potential of longer, if you can comment on how either your research or the research you're aware of, would affect the Hayflick limit, is there a number beyond that that we're not aware of? I'm curious.

David Sinclair (2:23)

Yeah. So the Hayflick limit is when the cells divide too many times and run out of telomere lengths, the ends of the chromosomes. And Leonard was a good friend. He passed away not too long ago. We are studying that. We see some evidence that when we turn on OSK, that telomerase is activated and the telomeres will get longer.

But we have a solution. If that's not the answer, then we could combine our treatment with telomerase therapy and get even longer life potentially for the cells in our body. But yeah, it's an area of intense investigation in my lab and a really good question.

Tom (3:04)

Thank you.

Peter Diamandis (3:04)

Thank you. Polly.

Polly (3:06)

Thank you, Dr. Sinclair. I have a quick question. For those that are using GLP-1s, do you have any hypothesis in terms of like, what, how can that be used when your longevity protocols? What can we expect in terms of decelerating aging?

David Sinclair (3:27)

Well, there's a lot to say about GLP-1s, and I'll try to be brief because there's a few questions.

More and more data is coming out showing benefits to the heart, the brain beyond just weight loss. That's amazing. And I think GLP-1s have paved the way socially for what's to come with longevity medicines, and longevity medicines will be much bigger than GLP-1s. But they're great now. I think if you're not losing weight, or you don't want to lose weight, talk to your doctor about microdosing. This all has to be doctor-supervised, of course. You can't just go out and do it yourself easily. And I don't recommend that. But yeah, it is very interesting that these drugs, and they're getting better all the time, seem to have other benefits besides weight loss. But weight loss alone is the biggest benefit you can have for longevity, actually. We don't say it often because it's not socially polite. But being massively overweight is a great way to accelerate your pace of aging. But yeah, those drugs look really good. There is one downside that I need to point out besides what's known about risks. That is that there's an increasing number of people waking up blind because of it. It's still rare. It's about 20,000 to 30,000 people in the US a year, which is still horrible.