An interview with Dr. Fay, the Founder and Chairman of 300 Forever Young Ltd.
“Staying young and living forever is the wish of all of mankind. Thanks to the development of technology and the emergence of a group of bold visionaries, now we have the possibility to let the dream come true,” said Dr. Fay Xie. He founded 300 Forever Young Ltd in 2018. He is currently chairman of the company and chief planner of the “Gene Valley” Project. Dr. Fay has published over 30 papers at home and abroad and proposed the “Rejuscience Hypothesis.”
The Earth will pass a turning point in 2020: for the first time ever, the number of people above 65 will exceed those under 5 years old. From 1958 to 2015, the cover stories of TIME magazine has changed its claims on aging many times. In 2015, TIME said it believed that humans can live to 142 years old.
“Scientists never stop their endeavors to delay aging. The more we know about the human body, the more we realize our ignorance. However, researchers continue to strive forward despite the setbacks.” Dr. Fay said. SpaChina interviews him.
How do scientists worldwide think about immortality and anti-aging?
Most scientists don’t believe in immortality. They care more about making people healthier and able to die without diseases. Since 1900, the human life span has increased 30 years. However, at the same time, there is a higher incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and other illnesses. Aging is the primary cause for these. That is why people mark an equivalence between aging and disease. Why didn’t we have these diseases in our childhood? How can we make people above 70 years old be absent of these diseases as well? If we want to live longer, we must delay the process of aging.
Many scientists believe that we cannot and we should not live forever. Otherwise, we will consume the resources on the Earth much more quickly and young people will lose their interest in innovation and passion for life. Many people say death is a part of life. Even so, there are some science-maniacs, like us, who will never give up the exploration of anti-aging and immortality.
Silicon Valley is at the frontier of immortality and anti-aging study. Why are the top entrepreneurs in the world so passionate about this?
When people’s basic needs for food and clothing are met, they will think about how to live healthier, longer and even forever. This is an unchanging rule from ancient times to now. Rich people invest in anti-aging projects because they want to seek the ultimate goal, the ultimate goal for themselves as well as all mankind.
Silicon Valley spearheads the investment into anti-aging and immortality. For instance, Bill Maris, the Founder and former CEO of Google Ventures, decided to found a company to solve the problem of death after he left the firm. He had a deep talk with futurist Ray Kurzweil who had once raised an assumption that humans would eventually become one with artificial intelligence and thus break the boundaries of creation. Later, Maris had another talk with Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. After hearing the assumptions, Brin, who had a high risk of getting Parkinson’s disease at the time, was very interested. Then, Larry Page, another co-founder of Google, said: “Let’s start.” In 2013, Google founded Calico with one billion dollars. Nevertheless, Calico still remains mysterious. People just know that they are tracing the data of a thousand mice from birth to death and seeking biomarkers of aging. Now more and more enterprises and individuals in Silicon Valley are beginning to invest in anti-aging technology.
What is the “Gene Valley” project and what is your role in the project?
I am the chief planner of “Gene Valley” project. Briefly, Gene Valley is “Silicon Valley” and “a human community of next generation” in the life-science (characterized by genes) era. We have to keep secret the actual address. But we will launch it first in China and then in Thailand. Gene Valley provides residents with working, living and entertainment facilities for the next generation, like a Gene Park. It will lead people to an interesting future world with daily experiences created by computational simulation with gene data as the core.
In addition, Gene Valley project also includes a REJUV cell aging evaluation and treatment center, a national-level GradeIII top hospital; AAI anti-aging AI development and big data center; and Rejuvenator, the first anti-aging medication development and anti-aging research institute. The project will undergo three stages. The total planning area is 10 square kilometers. Construction cycle is 10 years and total investment is RMB120 billion. Gene Valley will actively drive local industry and economy development, as well as impel global industries including life science, medical treatment and health, education, consumption, insurance and finance which are worth 10 trillion U.S. dollars altogether, forming a strong global influence in the life-science era. Our goal is to become a global innovation center of biological medicine and a valley of longevity.
The project participants are top scientists in the aging research field worldwide, such as the global leader in regenerative medicine study, Prof. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte from The Salk Institute; and the father of genomics, Craig Venter from the American Academy of Science. We pool together the top anti-aging scientific achievements around the world. This is the biggest highlight and success factor of the project.
What are the most practical ways to live longer for common people at present?
At present, the most practical means to having a long life are not so high-tech, such as quit smoking, fasten seat belts, and obey traffic rules. If you have done these, then take exercise regularly and maintain a proper diet. Studies show that calorie restriction and exercise will restrain mTOR, the signal path of regulating cellular metabolism, meaning to delay aging. But take heed that you need to do it “properly”. According to the research done by the Calorie Restriction Society, a sudden restriction of calories will, on the contrary, shorten the life of mice. Also, over-focus on longevity may lead to the sacrifice of reproductive capacity. Castrated mice usually have a much longer life span than normal mice.
Do you think SPA also helps with anti-aging?
Certainly yes. As I am aware, many spas has begun to use high-tech equipment and products to deliver anti-aging treatments to the body. Yoga and meditation are also good for the mind and can be, to a certain extent, regarded as brain anti-aging approaches. Though we are not yet able to live forever, we have taken the first important step – striving to live to the day of death healthily.
Scientists and investors are still probing ways to anti-aging and immortality. Luckily enough, we may have big breakthroughs in just a few of years, but maybe in several decades or longer. Some scientists hold that death is a part of life while others hope to break such limits with the weapon of technology. At the least, we should try our best to stay health before we leave this world. Though we all may die someday, we want to keep the body as complete as possible, and this is a profound part of human nature.
