Why We Die

The New Science of Ageing and Longevity

By: Venki Ramakrishnan

Narrated by: John Moraitis

A groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOK OF 2024

'Enthralling and packed with insights.' - BILL BRYSON
'A must-read.' - STEPHEN FRY
'Spectacular. Changed my perspective on the whole living world.' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN

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How can science help us live better and longer?

We are living through an exciting revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in our understanding of why we age, and why some species live longer than others. Will we soon be able to cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?

In Why We Die, Ramakrishnan takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology. He explains the latest scientific understanding of exactly why we age and how we might prevent it. He examines the cutting-edge efforts to extend lifespan by altering our natural biology and raises profound questions. Might death serve a necessary biological purpose? As science advances, what will it mean for us all if people start living longer? And how can we increase our chances of living long, healthy and fulfilled lives?

Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.

'An incredible journey.' - SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE
'Joyfully alive' - STEVE BRUSATTE
'Scientists do not come much more eminent than Venki Ramakrishnan... wonderfully readable... fascinating.' FINANCIAL TIMES

*As heard on BBC Radio 4 Start the Week*

©2024 Venki Ramakrishnan (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Lots to admire, but some big blind spots

There's lots to admire in the new book "Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality" by distinguished scientist Venki Ramakrishnan (Nobel prize winner and former President of the Royal Society). But it falls short in some key aspects too.

First, the good points. It is clearly written, and easy to follow. It provides an excellent survey of ideas about the science of aging, including lots of recent research. It filled in parts of my understanding which were rusty or incomplete.

The science is interspersed with potted biographies of some of the people within the longevity research community. They're entertaining but not always directly relevant. They're also questionable in places (like getting the biblical age of Methuselah wrong by over 100 years).

Unfortunately, he fails to properly engage with the damage repair approach of Aubrey de Grey, and uncritically repeats some rather old objections to it. That approach points out that much of the huge complexity of biological metabolism can be side-lined. You don't need to alter these complex biological metabolisms to prevent them from creating that damage. Instead, it's much simpler (though still hard, of course) to design interventions that periodically remove or repair that damage. It's a pity this approach wasn't addressed fairly, and that the book chose to laugh at the idea.

Moreover, whereas Ramakrishnan is sure-footed with his explanations of biology and chemistry, he is out of his depth in his comments about transhumanism. The description he provides of transhumanism is far too narrow.

The reason that's important is because the transhumanist literature contains extensive discussion of topics that he says no-one has thought hard about, namely the broader societal implications of people around the world living longer healthier lives.

For example, a significant part of my own 2016 book "The Abolition of Aging" addresses these questions, and I'm far from being the only person to have written about these topics at such length.

Another person with important insights (and data!) about the implications of longer lives is Andrew Scott, whose book "The Longevity Imperative" appeared just a few days before the one by Ramakrishnan. It contains extensive economic analysis.

I'll end with another positive comment. Ramakrishnan points to various problematic aspects of the broader community that is sometimes uncritically over-enthusiastic about biorejuvenation treatments. Alas, that "longevity shadow" (my term) is pushing potential allies away.