The dream of eternal life or a fountain of youth drives many people.
Even billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner are not immune.
Munich - It is a dream that is as old as humanity: immortality.
Even rich people like Jeff Bezos * and Yuri Milner seem to be very attracted to this idea.
The two billionaires have decided to finance a biotechnology startup whose goal is to reverse the aging process.
This is reported by the Internet edition of the British
Daily Mail
.
The startup called Altos Labs has already raised at least $ 270 million, even though it was only launched earlier this year.
The company is looking for ways to turn back the clock in animals, but also in humans.
Altos Labs itself does not provide any information on how this should work.
However, according to the
Daily Mail
, the qualifications of the employees and advisory boards
provide valuable information on the direction in which the research should go
.
+
Jeff Bezos (left) and Yuri Milner are researching immortality
© Sven Simon / Future Image / imago, photo montage: Merkur.de
Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner invest in immortality: potential "elixir of life" discovered
So Altos Lab Dr.
Engage Shinya Yamanaka as unpaid advisor to the Scientific Advisory Board.
In 2012, the Japanese stem cell researcher received the Nobel Prize for Medicine as a pioneer in cell reprogramming.
He discovered that by adding four specific proteins, cells can be restored to a previous state in which they had the properties of embryonic stem cells.
Dr.
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte.
The Spaniard is a biologist who used Yamanaka's embryonic stem cell technique on mice in 2016.
The rodents are said to have shown signs of a reversal of the aging process.
After the experiment, Belmonte called the technology a potential "elixir of life".
Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner invest in immortality: Nobel laureate in chemistry on the advisory board
Dr.
Jennifer Doudna.
In 2020 she received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a method for genome editing, the so-called CRISPR method.
Belmonte already used this procedure in 2019 to test alternative anti-aging methods.
Part of the team is Dr.
Steve Horvath, who developed markers that can accurately measure the aging of humans and animals.
This is important in order to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the technologies used.
Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner invest in immortality: if they are successful, they generate billions in sales
Altos Labs was
not set up,
Daily Mail
reports, to
translate
research into marketable anti-aging products as soon as possible.
First of all, one wants to understand the rejuvenation of living things.
However, there seems to be a first specific goal, namely to use cell reprogramming methods on animals without killing them.
However, if the start-up were to develop a successful anti-aging technology, it would generate billions in sales.
But Altos Labs has to assert itself against strong competition, including Life Biosciences, Turn Biotechnologies, AgeX Therapeutics and Shift Bioscience.
Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner Investing in Immortality: Cell Reprogramming Far Too Dangerous for Humans?
There is also criticism of the way Altos Labs seeks to rejuvenate living things.
Reprogramming not only transforms the cells back into embryonic stem cells, but also changes their tasks.
This makes the process far too dangerous for use on humans, says Dr.
Alejandro Ocampo, a former Belmonte colleague.
Altos Labs is not Bezos and Milner's first experience in this area.
The Amazon founder has already invested in the anti-aging company Unity Biotechnology.
Milner has amassed an estimated fortune of around $ 4.8 billion by investing in Facebook and as a co-founder of the Internet company Mail.Ru.
The Russian has supported research into long life through the Milky Way Foundation.
* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Sven Simon / Future Image / imago, photo montage: Merkur.de