Altos Labs is a new startup in Silicon Valley with the main mission of extending human life, maybe even eternal life. The initiator is the Russian billionaire, Yuri Milner. The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, is reported to have invested. What will Altos Labs do?
In essence, this startup is working on technology to rejuvenate human cells and prolong the lifespan of most people.
The breakthrough is called reprogramming technology that has the potential to revitalize any cell. This technology may be able to improve poor vision, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries and other problems caused by aging.
One of the famous scientists involved is Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a biologist from Spain. "Aging is not an irreversible process," he said in 2018. In other words, he believes human aging can be prevented with the help of technology.
Jeff Bezos himself seems to want to live long. Previously, he invested in Unity Biotechnology, a company that is looking for drugs to fight aging. Some time ago in a farewell letter from the Amazon, Bezos offered the words of the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
"Stopping death is something you have to work on. If living things don't actively work to prevent it, they will eventually fuse with their surroundings and cease to exist as autonomous things. This is what happens when they die," Bezos said at the time.
Indeed, the context is more so that Amazon as an online store giant can live a long time, not sink with the times. But according to Bezos, it is relevant for many things including individuals. Maybe also as a signal that he wants to live long.
"The message is fantastic and relevant for Amazon. I would argue that it is relevant for all companies and all institutions and for each of our individual lives," said Jeff Bezos.