The Longevity Seekers

Long before modern labs, people hunted for ways to halt aging, from the waters off Bimini to the Florida town of St. Augustine. Ted Anton's book follows a determined group of researchers who found a promising route in an unlikely place: the tiny roundworm used in laboratories. By switching off a handful of specific genes, they stretched the worms' lives as much as tenfold and delayed many of the ailments that usually come with old age. With a global population growing older, the implications for society, and for the money to be made from them, are enormous.

The story starts with those worms but spreads well beyond the lab bench. It brings in gifted scientists working in California and Crete, backing from large biotechnology companies, and public enthusiasm from television figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz. Some findings were striking, including a human enzyme that prevents cells from aging. Others, such as a much-cited study on resveratrol, a compound in red wine, became deeply contested and set off a fight over scientific truth, recognition, and profit. As discoveries came faster, rivalries between researchers grew sharper, and the public watched closely, fueled by the belief that a longer, healthier life might be just around the corner.

Anton spent years interviewing and working alongside the scientists at the leading edge of longevity research. The book offers a behind-the-scenes view of that cutting-edge work and considers how it could affect public health, society, and the everyday lives of families and friends.