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上周五上午听的是Longevity Biotech Fellowship(LBF)的运营负责人Eric Magro的分享。这个成立约三年的非营利组织专注一件事:把“解决衰老”当成一个值得立项、拨款、招人的工程问题来做。
Eric开场放了一张死亡率曲线。年轻时,我们的死亡概率几乎贴地飞行,到了某个年龄后会突然指数级拉升。衰老,是全球大多数人的死因本质,但目前没有一个国家或大型机构在系统性地拆解这个问题。LBF的路线图就是想补上这个“战略空白”。
Last Friday morning I sat in on a session by Eric, Head of Operations from Longevity Biotech Fellowship (LBF). Founded roughly three years ago, this nonprofit focuses on one thing: treating "solving aging" as an engineering problem worthy of formal project launch, funding, and hiring.
Eric opened with a mortality curve. When we're young, the probability of death hovers near zero; after a certain age, it spikes exponentially. Aging is essentially the leading cause of death worldwide, yet no country or major institution is systematically dismantling the problem. LBF's roadm28 daysap aims to fill this strategic void.
生物工程(Bioengineering):彻底理解衰老生物学并干预。Eric认为这是最难、最花钱、最遥远的方向,因为人类至今没有公认的衰老理论框架,连因果通路都没完全摸清。
生物停滞(Biostasis):在衰老被解决前,把人“暂停”。主要是低温保存(cryonics),也包括其他尚未成熟的技术。Eric强调这更像工程问题而非基础科学问题,且目前全球从业者极少、资金严重不足。
替换(Replacement): 哪里坏了换哪里,从细胞、组织、器官到全身替换。LBF认为这条路径的成本和时间预估远低于生物工程,因此他们最为之兴奋。
Bioengineering— fully understanding and intervening in aging biology. Eric considers this the hardest, most expensive, and most distant route. Humanity still lacks a consensus theoretical framework for aging; we haven't even fully mapped the causal pathways.
Biostasis— putting people "on pause" until aging is solved. Primarily cryonics, plus other immature tech. Eric stresses this is more engineering than basic science, but global practitioners are scarce and funding is severely lacking.
Replacement— swapping out whatever breaks, from cells to tissues to organs to whole bodies. LBF estimates this path demands far less cost and time than bioengineering, which is why they're most excited about it.
2018年,中国科学家完成世界首例灵长类动物体细胞克隆(“中中”、“华华”),成果发表于Cell,这是生殖生物学领域的一项背景性里程碑。Eric在现场讨论LBF对远期替换路径的表述时,使用了“bodyoid / brain-knockout”这一术语,但他并未将2018年的这项研究作为该概念的直接技术基础。
低温保存领域已有商业机构在运营。柏林的Tomorrow.Bio成立于2020年,截至目前已完成20名人类和10只宠物的低温保存,另有800余人签约,合同总额超过1.6亿欧元。其与瑞士的European Biostasis Foundation合作,使用液氮罐长期储存。美国老牌机构Alcor Life Extension Foundation(1972年成立)和Cryonics Institute(1976年成立)也在提供类似服务。
纳米复温(Nanowarming)技术已有学术突破。明尼苏达大学John Bischof团队2025年在Nature Communications发表概念验证:使用氧化铁纳米颗粒配合射频线圈,实现了2升玻璃化体积的快速均匀复温(约88C/分钟),为人体器官尺度的玻璃化保存与复温提供了物理可行性。
小鼠断指再生是真实存在的研究方向。Tulane大学和Texas A和M的Ken Muneoka等研究者长期追踪成年小鼠指尖(digit tip)的再生机制,发现其可完整再生骨骼、血管、神经和指甲,相关研究发表于Development、Regeneration等期刊。
至于Brian Johnson的Blueprint项目,Eric在现场做了明确切割:那是严格的健康优化实验,而非抗衰老疗法。Brian做的是“在AI解决衰老之前尽量保持健康”,其项目每年花费约200万美元,包含极端饮食、睡眠和biomarker监测,但并未声称能单独实现大幅延寿。
In 2018, Chinese scientists achieved the world's first primate somatic-cell cloning ("Zhong Zhong" and "Hua Hua"), published in Cell — a relevant background milestone in reproductive biology. On-site, Eric discussed how LBF frames the longer-term replacement path using terminology like "bodyoid / brain-knockout," though he did not present the 2018 study as the direct technical basis for that concept.
Commercial cryopreservation is already operating. Berlin-based Tomorrow.Bio, founded in 2020, has completed cryopreservation for 20 humans and 10 pets, with 800+ people signed up and contracts totaling over €160 million. It partners with Switzerland's European Biostasis Foundation for long-term liquid-nitrogen storage. US veterans Alcor Life Extension Foundation (est. 1972) and Cryonics Institute (est. 1976) offer similar services.
Nanowarming has posted academic breakthroughs. The University of Minnesota's John Bischof team published a 2025 proof-of-concept in Nature Communications: using iron-oxide nanoparticles with RF coils, they achieved rapid, uniform rewarming of a 2-liter vitrified volume at roughly 88C/min, lending physical feasibility to organ-scale vitrification and rewarming.
Mouse digit-tip regeneration is a real research track. Teams at Tulane University and Texas A和M (Ken Muneoka et al.) have long studied adult mouse digit-tip regeneration, demonstrating full regrowth of bone, vasculature, nerves, and nails in journals such as Development and Regeneration.
Eric drew a sharp on-site distinction regarding Brian Johnson's Blueprint: it is a strict health-optimization experiment, not an anti-aging therapy. Johnson's aim is to "stay healthy until AI solves aging," spending roughly $2 million yearly on extreme diet, sleep, and biomarker protocols, without claiming it can independently deliver major lifespan extension.
正式开场前,muShanghai第二周主题负责人Frank Ji(中)向Eric Magro(左)提问
AI设计低温保护剂:目前确实有团队在用机器学习寻找毒性更低、效果更好的化学组合,属于进行中的研究。
渐进式大脑替换(progressive brain replacement):逐步用新生长的脑组织替换衰老部分。Eric承认这是“radical idea”,目前极少机构在做。(Jean Hbert等研究者曾探索过相关概念。)
癌症与衰老的“两面硬币”论:现场有听众提出,若可控地驾驭癌细胞的无限增殖能力并理解其生物学,或许能为衰老提供新思路。Eric回应称这是“interesting path”,但表示不清楚是否有人正在用这个框架推进。
Michael Levin(Tufts University)的“解剖学编译器”(anatomical compiler):将人类可读的指令转化为生物电/化学信号,指导细胞再生。这是Levin实验室的研究方向之一,已有早期工作,但距离人体应用遥远。
鳄鱼/短吻鳄的“衰老可忽略”(negligible senescence):科学界确实观察到部分爬行动物衰老极慢,但Eric在现场被问及“鳄鱼细胞到达某年龄后不再衰老”时,明确回答“I don't know the specific example”,并提醒这类能力往往是动物整体系统的一部分,难以孤立移植到人体。
AI-designed cryoprotectants: Teams are actively using machine learning to hunt for less toxic, more effective chemical combos — ongoing research.
Progressive brain replacement:Gradually swapping aging brain tissue with newly grown tissue. Eric called it a "radical idea"; very few institutions are pursuing it. Researchers such as Jean Hbert have explored related concepts.
The "two sides of a coin" theory linking cancer and aging:An audience member proposed that if we could harness cancer cells' limitless proliferation in a cont