Episode 77: Anti-ageing, part 1

Episode 77: Anti-ageing, part 1

Author: Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie June 24, 2025 Duration: 1:05:46

Whether it’s people giving themselves goat blood transfusions in an effort to maintain their youth, or yet another influencer telling you to buy XYZ miracle supplements, anti-ageing is big business.

In the first part of what will surely become a longer Studies Show series, Tom and Stuart look at the evidence for a few supposed “breakthrough” treatments that can slow down ageing: rapamycin, metformin, winding back the epigenetic clock, and calorie restriction.

The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. This week we talked about their new article on “through running”—the deceptively simple idea of not having trains stop at the edge of town and instead running them right through the centre. It seems obvious if you live in London, but it wasn’t always this way. Check out the article for a detailed, nerdy discussion about how we can make trains—and therefore citites—better.

Show notes

* New meta-analysis on rapamycin and ageing

* Website for Bryan “n = 1” Johnson and his related health claims

* Our World In Data on life expectancy and about the reasons why it increased

* Meta-analysis on methylation and the “biological clock” as a predictor of longevity

* The STAP stem cell debacle

* 2016 study using Yamanaka factors to slow down ageing in mice

* 2023 study of the same idea on wild-type mice, showing a 109% increase in life expectancy

* 2014 Scottish study on diabetes, metformin, and life expectancy

* Critical letter noting the study’s flaws

* Failed replication from Denmark in 2022

* The NIH’s Interventions Testing Program

* Older review of calorie restriction and ageing

Credits

We’re grateful to Andrew Steele for talking to us for this episode. The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

Every week, Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie pull apart the biggest arguments and most confusing claims making headlines. Science Fictions isn't just about celebrating breakthroughs; it's a necessary dive into the messy, contested, and often surprising realities of how science actually works. You'll hear them unpack heated debates, examine questionable studies, and explore why even solid research can sometimes lead to public confusion. This podcast serves as a guide through the noise, separating compelling evidence from overblown narratives. Each episode feels like a conversation with two deeply informed friends who aren't afraid to ask tough questions, offering clarity on topics that matter. For anyone curious about the stories behind the science headlines, this is an essential listen. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that goes beyond the press release, grounded in a genuine fascination with how we know what we know.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Science Fictions
Podcast Episodes
Episode 50: Toxoplasma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:48
Been feeling a little strange lately? A bit impulsive, maybe? Feeling a sudden urge to get a pet cat? Sorry to say it, but maybe you’re infected with a scary mind control parasite: specifically, the paraside Toxoplasma g…
Paid-only Episode 12: Jonathan Haidt vs. social media [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:18
A while back, The Studies Show covered the question of whether smartphones and social media cause mental health problems. Amazingly, that podcast didn’t settle the issue, and the debate has continued—and continued rather…
Episode 49: Scientific publishing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:13
It’s in a peer-reviewed paper, so it must be true. Right? Alas, you can only really hold this belief if you don’t know about the peer-review system, and scientific publishing more generally.That’s why, in this episode of…
Episode 48: Alcohol [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:19
Okay, it’s time to finally answer the question: is drinking booze good or bad? Is there really a “J-curve”, such that it’s bad to drink zero alcohol, good to drink a little, and then bad to drink any more than that? What…
Episode 47: The 25 year old brain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:31
Everyone knows your brain hasn’t finished maturing until you’re 25. That’s so well-known, in fact, that some countries (like Scotland) have built it into their criminal justice system, giving lower sentences to under-25s…
Paid-only Episode 11: Sex education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:39
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comDid your schoolteacher also do the thing with the banana and the condom? It might’ve been cringe and awkward, but just ask the…
Episode 46: The marshmallow test [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:44
It’s one of the best-known findings of psychology research: kids who can delay gratification by not eating a marshmallow will grow up healther, wiser, and more successful. But guess what? Later studies had trouble findin…
First anniversary special [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:38
We’ve now been making this podcast for a year(!). We thought we’d mark the occasion with a grossly self-indulgent look back through our favourite episodes - and our least favourites, too. We’ve still got a massive list o…
Episode 45: Air pollution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:59
Remember when they were coming to take your gas stove away? Every so often a study about the effects of air pollution on health goes viral, and we’re reminded again that seemingly innocuous objects—like your kitchen cook…
Paid-only Episode 10: Misinformation, debunked [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:00
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comWe all agree that misinformation is bad. So why do we cringe when we hear prominent scientists and commentators talking about “…