‘We’re no longer managing ageing but trying to stop it’: Scientist answers if we can stay young forever

From the Evil Queen in Snow White to Captain Hook in Peter Pan, the fear of ageing —and the desire to defy it— has often been cast as the obsession of villains.

Across cultures, the idea has long been simple: ageing is natural and you will grow old.

But in modern times, that assumption has begun to be challenged. Humanity has moved from trying to age gracefully to asking a question that cultures across the world held taboo for ages: can ageing be stopped altogether? Science suggests we may be getting close.

People are no longer just managing ageing, but are actively trying to stop it and science has come close to cracking the puzzle, says Prof Sanjeev Galande, the Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, in an interview with Firstpost.

But Galande is careful to dismiss the gimmicky notions that many influencers or companies may sell. He says the general rule of thumb is that the basic biology is often sound, but the jump from ‘this mechanism exists’ to ‘this expensive protocol reverses aging’ is rarely supported by evidence.

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“Celebrity-endorsed longevity regimens are a one-off experiment sold with the certainty that the science does not yet support. Steer clear of costly unvalidated supplement stacks, obsessive biomarker tracking with no clinical guidance, and young plasma infusions. These things are more mythology than medicine right now,” says Galande, who heads the Center of Excellence in Epigenetics and leads research on ageing and cancer.

Ask the right questions to get the right answers

Galande says one must understand ageing to understand how one might actually stay young forever.

Galande tells Firstpost that ageing is the slow build-up of damage to cells and molecules over time through many interconnected processes.

Over the years, says Galande, scientists have understood the fundamentals of ageing: telomere shortening, the shortening of the protective caps on chromosomes; the build-up of ‘zombie cells’ called senescent cells that cease to divide yet do not perish; a diminished capacity to repair damaged proteins; mitochondrial dysfunction in the cell’s energy source; altered epigenetic markers; and persistent low-grade inflammation.

Biologically, staying young means slowing down or stopping these processes, says Galande.

The million-dollar question, then, is: can it be done? Galande says yes and no.

Senolytics get rid of damaged cells, epigenetic reprogramming can partially reset a cell’s biological age, and drugs such as rapamycin and metformin have effects similar to those of caloric restriction, or reducing daily calorie intake while avoiding any type of malnutrition, says Galande.

Today, the goal is less about living longer and more about living longer in good health, says Galande.

But Galande stresses there are no magic bullets, and theoretical understandings of how to crack the ageing puzzle have not yet completely turned into practice.

At the outset, says Galande, people must understand that while the evidence is genuinely promising, it is important to differentiate between findings in animals and those in humans. Referring to Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka’s 2006 research, Galande says it has been demonstrated that fully differentiated adult cells can be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state, a process that could potentially reverse epigenetic ageing.

Such research has also reversed epigenetic age in mouse neurons, restored vision in older mice, and increased lifespan in animal models. These are reversal experiments, not just attempts to slow ageing down.

Galande further says, “The TRIIM trial in humans indicated a quantifiable decrease in biological age by approximately two and a half years through a combination of hormonal and metabolic interventions, monitored via Horvath's epigenetic clocks. Nonetheless, the majority of reversal studies are conducted on mice or limited human cohorts. There is a risk of tumours with partial reprogramming. And even though epigenetic clocks can be changed, it hasn't been proven that this leads to real functional rejuvenation in people. So, safe, long-lasting, and meaningful reversal in people is still the last frontier.”

Despite cutting-edge science, nothing beats the basics

While scientific advances have demonstrated the ability to reverse ageing, Galande says nothing works like the basics and interventions alone cannot ensure youth.

At a time when ‘biohacking’ has become popular, encompassing everything from strict diet regimens to expensive longevity protocols promoted by billionaires such as Bryan Johnson, who has undertaken transfusions of ‘young blood’, Galande stresses that the truth is not glamorous but boring.

“The three things with the most evidence behind them are quality sleep, regular exercise, and a whole-food diet. They are free, accessible, and routinely ignored in favour of expensive protocols that flatter our desire for shortcuts,” says Galande.

But even the combination of interventions and these proven truths may not help if the environment remains polluted. In polluted places such as Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), staying young is not a challenge that can be addressed individually. Galande says it is essentially a public health concern.

“The control of biological ageing is limited by the environment no matter what you eat, how much you exercise or sleep. Air pollution, particularly PM2.5, directly accelerates several core hallmarks of ageing. It causes chronic systemic inflammation, induces oxidative stress that damages DNA and mitochondria, and crucially, causes epigenetic changes including abnormal DNA methylation patterns that reflect and accelerate biological ageing,” says Galande.

Far-reaching consequences of failing the basics

As modern medicine pursues extending lifespan and improving quality of life, the failure to pursue the basics at both the individual and community levels is far-reaching. For one, studies have consistently shown that people living in high-stress, polluted environments are biologically older than their actual age even if they do the right things individually.

That means clean air policies, green urban spaces, and equitable healthcare are not merely quality-of-life issues but biological interventions that are critical to healthy ageing, says Galande.

The failure is catastrophic as the early onset of biological old age could bring forward the risk of several diseases, including cancer.

As ageing is the most common risk factor for cancer, heart disease, neurodegeneration, and most other long-term health problems, the failure to implement measures that slow the onset of biological old age is damning.