It's even worse than you portray. Humans live five times as long as should be expected from their weight -- mice 0.7 times. (Austad, 1991). Also, not only are the rodents metabolically morbid, but all the model lab animals have been overfed for generations, including yeast, flatworms, and fruit flies. As an example of longevity research misattribution, the longevity effects of calorie restriction disappear when done on wild strains, including those with shorter lifespans, like rotifers or butterflies.
Aubrey de Grey poured water on caloric restriction in Ending Aging for theoretical evo reasons, this skepticism just keeps getting validated.
> First, the degree of life extension that has been obtained thus far in various species exhibits a disheartening pattern: it works much better in shorter-lived species than in longer-lived ones. Nematodes, as I mentioned above, can live several times as long as normal if starved at the right point in their development; so can fruit flies. Mice and rats, however, can only be pushed to live about 40 percent longer than normal. This pattern led me, a few years ago, to wonder whether humans might even be less responsive than that, and I quickly realized that there is indeed a simple evolutionary reason to expect just such a thing. It’s a consequence of the fact that the duration of a famine is determined by the environment and is independent of the natural rate of aging of the species experiencing it.
Help Us Spread the Word (We're Just Getting Started)
We're John and Janice, 78 and 76, documenting a 50+ day R1S road trip to Alaska. We've also launched Everyday Longevity—our publication on closing the gap between lifespan and healthspan.
Our message is getting almost no visibility yet. And that's okay—we're new. But it means people who could benefit from our work might never find it.
The Simple Ask
If our posts resonated with you:
→ Share them with someone who needs them → Leave a comment (seriously, even "this helped" counts) → Subscribe if the content adds value ($5/month or $50/year)
If they didn't resonate: No worries. But if you know someone planning an R1S adventure or convinced they're "too old" for something—they might need to read us.
Why It Matters
We're trying to prove something: that 78 and 76 aren't too old for epic adventures. That age isn't a ceiling—just a coordinate on your map.
You should look into the effects of sunlight on all cause mortality and see if the research designs there are credible, I think scientists should also study the effect of broad spectrum sunlight exposure (including the sunrise and sunset) on the quality of sleep and such. I think there might be room in exploring longevity via circadian biology.
Snark and insults are not appropriate tools for pointing out an error. If you see an error, note it without being abrasive. The error has now been corrected and logged in the public error compendium and it has not resulted in any substantive changes to the results.
It's even worse than you portray. Humans live five times as long as should be expected from their weight -- mice 0.7 times. (Austad, 1991). Also, not only are the rodents metabolically morbid, but all the model lab animals have been overfed for generations, including yeast, flatworms, and fruit flies. As an example of longevity research misattribution, the longevity effects of calorie restriction disappear when done on wild strains, including those with shorter lifespans, like rotifers or butterflies.
I wrote more about the calorie restriction myth here: https://www.unaging.com/calorie-restriction/
Aubrey de Grey poured water on caloric restriction in Ending Aging for theoretical evo reasons, this skepticism just keeps getting validated.
> First, the degree of life extension that has been obtained thus far in various species exhibits a disheartening pattern: it works much better in shorter-lived species than in longer-lived ones. Nematodes, as I mentioned above, can live several times as long as normal if starved at the right point in their development; so can fruit flies. Mice and rats, however, can only be pushed to live about 40 percent longer than normal. This pattern led me, a few years ago, to wonder whether humans might even be less responsive than that, and I quickly realized that there is indeed a simple evolutionary reason to expect just such a thing. It’s a consequence of the fact that the duration of a famine is determined by the environment and is independent of the natural rate of aging of the species experiencing it.
Help Us Spread the Word (We're Just Getting Started)
We're John and Janice, 78 and 76, documenting a 50+ day R1S road trip to Alaska. We've also launched Everyday Longevity—our publication on closing the gap between lifespan and healthspan.
Our message is getting almost no visibility yet. And that's okay—we're new. But it means people who could benefit from our work might never find it.
The Simple Ask
If our posts resonated with you:
→ Share them with someone who needs them → Leave a comment (seriously, even "this helped" counts) → Subscribe if the content adds value ($5/month or $50/year)
If they didn't resonate: No worries. But if you know someone planning an R1S adventure or convinced they're "too old" for something—they might need to read us.
Why It Matters
We're trying to prove something: that 78 and 76 aren't too old for epic adventures. That age isn't a ceiling—just a coordinate on your map.
That message needs to reach more people.
Where to Find Us
→ https://open.substack.com/pub/john809/p/alaska-bound-our-2025-summer-road (R1S + EV strategies)
→ https://john809.substack.com/s/everyday-longevity (Health + active aging)
We read every comment, every share, every reply. Your engagement isn't just a metric—it's fuel.
Thank you for being here.
John & Janice
Life extension tips:
1. Don't smoke, drink or drive without a seatbelt.
2. Don't commit suicide.
3. Don't deal in high-value narcotics.
4. See your doctors and take your meds.
5. Take NAD+, Fisetin, Querceitin, Vitamins C, D, magnesium and zinc.
6. Get plenty of direct sunlight.
7. Apply topical Fipronil to prevent Lyme Disease.
Please answer me I have a great plan for increasing birth rate
https://x.com/EthereumCB/status/1844433607701778600
How about fasting benefits, e.g. intermittent fasting? Are those still plausible?
You should look into the effects of sunlight on all cause mortality and see if the research designs there are credible, I think scientists should also study the effect of broad spectrum sunlight exposure (including the sunrise and sunset) on the quality of sleep and such. I think there might be room in exploring longevity via circadian biology.
Snark and insults are not appropriate tools for pointing out an error. If you see an error, note it without being abrasive. The error has now been corrected and logged in the public error compendium and it has not resulted in any substantive changes to the results.