Dangerous experiments
"The fight against aging by affecting telomeres is pseudoscience"
Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+
Telomere Diagnostics, a Silicon Valley startup, offers customers to find out their cellular age with a simple test priced at $99. Telomeres protect genetic material during division and, according to some scientists, can serve as indicators of aging. However, other experts consider the measurement of cellular age and attempts to prolong life by affecting telomeres to be pseudoscience.
Telomeres are a kind of "caps" on chromosomes. The shorter they are, the so-called cellular age of the organism is higher. Unlike biological age, cellular age can be adjusted by increasing the length of telomeres due to a healthy lifestyle. Telomere Diagnostics believes that it is possible to slow down aging in this way, and in addition to the results of the analysis, they give personal recommendations to customers.
The idea sounds great, but many biologists claim that the startup is, in fact, engaged in pseudoscience.
Among the skeptics are two of the three founders of Telomere Diagnostics, including 2009 Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn. They left the company a few years ago, questioning not only the scientific methods of Telomere Diagnostics, but also the startup's approach to the security of customers' personal data.
Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for her research on telomeres, but she claims that the relationship between their length and life expectancy is still unclear. For example, although short telomeres are associated with cancer and age-related diseases, there is no evidence that their lengthening can protect against these problems.
In addition, it is not known whether there is a causal relationship between certain behaviors, such as quitting smoking or exercise, and telomere length. All this suggests that scientists still have a lot of research to do before they understand what role telomeres play in the aging process.
Under these conditions, any attempts to manipulate telomere length are premature at best, and dangerous at worst.
When Elizabeth Blackburn founded the company (originally called Telom Health) in 2010, her goal was to attract more funding to this area of research. According to the original plan, the tests were supposed to identify people with a high risk of various diseases. However, after 3 years, she left her post on the board of directors. The reason for the conflict was the drug TA-65: the company was sure that it could prolong life, but Blackburn insisted that it increases the risk of cancer.
The startup is also criticized by other former employees. For example, an anonymous employee in an interview with Business Insider said that sometimes Telomere Diagnostics takes test results from the ceiling so that customers are satisfied. In addition, at least twice startup employees mixed up samples of different clients. To top it all off, the lab is dirty and full of mice.
Despite the opinion of skeptics, the startup continues to work and in 2017 showed very successful financial results.
Jason Shelton, CEO, claims that the company adheres to strict scientific principles. Telomere Diagnostics employees even published an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which proves the effectiveness of the methods used.
The fight against aging has recently become a very fashionable topic, in which billions are ready to invest. In the wake of interest, there are more and more controversial startups promising rejuvenation to customers. Among them is Ambrosia, which is preparing to open a clinic for blood transfusion of young donors to elderly patients.
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