
Today’s guest on the Free Radicals podcast is @ArtirKel, head of theory @RetroBio_ and blogger nintil.com. Jose is a prolific blogger, covering a wide breadth of topics across economics, philosophy, progress studies, science funding, much more, and of course longevity. His works have been published by @a16z, @WorksInProgMag and @ASI. Our conversation is wide ranging, spanning a deep dive on Retro’s work to replace and engineer microglia to rejuvenate the brain and how our cells have the ability to turn back the aging clock but choose not to. We also covered the technological stagnation and why biological engineering is the new frontier of progress, as well as philosophical topics like transhumanism and how a future of total biological control might impact our values and way of life. Be sure to follow me and @EricDai_BioE to stay up to date on the latest news in longevity biotech! And Special thank you to @NFX & @omri_drory for lending us their beautiful podcasting studio! 0:00 Intro 2:49 What is aging & why cells have a tough choice to make 9:02 When cells choose to reverse aging themselves 12:43 Cellular vs Organismal Aging & the magic wand experiment 18:31 What is reprogramming 22:40 How reprogramming plays a role in DNA damage repair 25:42 Do we already know how to cure aging? FOXO3! 28:37 How to cut through the complexity of interconnected biology 32:32 Why transcription factors are so great for intervening 36:49 Does a rejuvenation program exist already in the genome 38:51 Michael Levin: from thinking in terms of genes to morphogenesis 48:14 Tech stagnation and why physics is cooked 55:03 Why doesn't the world look more futuristic 57:26 Transhumanism & asking ourselves what we want out of life 1:05:34 Do we need war for technological progress 1:09:31 Government role in science funding 1:15:06 How Jose became the Head of Theory at Retro 1:24:53 How AI might put software engineers out of a job, and push them towards biotech 1:27:28 What it takes to get a flywheel in biotech 1:29:04 Rejuvenation vs Prevention 1:34:23 Aging is the coolest hardest problem to work on 1:36:09 What does it take to cure aging 1:42:25 Delivery mechanisms for genetic therapies 1:48:53 Retro's work to replace microglia and engineer them outside the body 1:59:10 Consciousness 2:00:39 Jose's Origin Story






