Joseph CascianiGeropsychologist, Consultant, Public Speaking, Freelance · Podcast Host of the Living to 100 Club | Clinical Strategies for Senior Residential Settings & Lifestyle Directors | Geropsychologist | Keynote Speaker

What Happens to Our Society When We Turn off the Aging Clock? with Joel Geiderman

26 Aug 2024 · 1 min

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In this interview segment, Joel Geiderman discusses the notion of an "aging clock" that governs biological aging. He argues that aging is driven by a biological process that could, in principle, be switched on or off. Citing his own book, Geiderman references Progeria—a rare genetic disorder where children experience rapid, premature aging—as a natural example of the clock being turned on early, causing children to appear decades older within a few years. He suggests that if a mechanism can activate the aging clock, it should also be possible to deactivate it, and he speculates that a breakthrough could occur anywhere from tomorrow to a few decades hence. The conversation frames the aging clock as a fundamental, yet not fully understood, biological system with profound implications for individual health and society if it can be controlled.

My sense is it could be, it could be tomorrow, it could be in, in, in 10 years, or it could be in 20 years. But I think it's, it's gonna happen. There's something that underlies it. We don't know what it is, but there's something that underlies it.
Mm-hmm.
It's gotta be, it's a biological process.
Mm-hmm. If the clock starts, it can be stopped, so to speak.
Yep.
Yeah.
In fact, in my book, I described the disease called Progeria.
Yes.
And there's little kids who get— when they're 1 or 2 years old, they turn— their aging clock turns on and they look like they're 90 when they're 10 years old.
Right.
So something turns it on, and if someone can turn it on, somebody can turn it off.