Reversing Human Aging

• Aging

Reversing Human Aging was the first book in history to describe how aging works, how to reverse it, and the consequences of doing so. Originally published in 1996, it has largely passed the test of time. On October 1st, I published an electronic edition of this book on Amazon.com and made it available for those interested in the work of Double Biotechs on the Edge Helix Corporation. The new edition, however, was taken directly from my original manuscript as submitted for publication, rather than from the publisher’s final version as actually printed. To the contrary, it retains the uncorrected style of my initial writing. Using the original manuscript is sometimes a boon, as the original phrasing and word choice was – in some cases – pithier and livelier than the editor’s choice. In other cases, and in other opinions, the editorial changes were probably the wiser choice, but have still not been used in this version. In any case, while I wrote the book electronically and kept electronic copies, the publisher did not and only my original version is easily available in an electronic format. I have made no attempt to update (or correct) the science behind this version. Specifically, I have not used more current information about telomerase and human disease to alter my original statements, nor was it necessary.   

For those who want more academic information, I refer them to my textbook, published in 2004 by Oxford University Press, Cells, Aging, and Human Disease. Like all information, whether hardcopy or electronic, it has also gone out of currency, although it certainly is more definitive and detailed than is Reversing Human Aging.

I am currently working on another, newer, updated book on reversing aging, also aimed at the public. I strongly feel that if you cannot explain a subject to the general public, then you don’t understand it yourself. Most academic writing only supports this opinion. While I find the project worthwhile and useful for me as I try to understand the area better myself, no book can substitute for investigation and compassionate intervention.

With this in mind, my priority has always been to move the field from the laboratory to the clinic, “from chromosomes to nursing homes”. Various forces – all firmly grounded in human nature – have conspired to prevent progress. Fortunately, recent advances have made action practical and other forces – again, human nature – have serendipitously come together to give us a chance to prevent and cure the diseases of aging by resetting the aging process at the genetic level. The vagaries of human nature should not and do not undermine our determined compassion and the wish to improve the lives, the joy, and the grace of those with whom we share the honor of being human. Humans may be a rum lot, but I’m one of that lot. If we can cure disease and remove the fear and tragedy that too often creeps into our souls with age, then we should do so. The key to such intervention – or the side effect if you favor irony – is to do what has never been done before: to reverse human aging.

And so we will.