The $101 Million Race to Solve Longevity — XPRIZE Healthspan | Jamie Justice PhD

What if we could solve longevity — not in mice, but in real humans over 50? Dr. Jamie Justice leads the $101 million XPRIZE Healthspan competition, where 744 teams must prove they can restore muscle, cognition, and immune function by 10–20 years in clinical trials. ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 - The $101M challenge: restore function in humans over 50 1:00 - Show intro 4:36 - Welcome Dr. Jamie Justice 5:03 - From art and sports therapy to geroscience 8:41 - Tom Johnson vs. Lynn Hayflick debate 11:25 - What drew Jamie to aging research 14:58 - The revolution in longevity science 15:10 - Why aging isn't like an oil tanker wearing out 17:43 - Epigenetic reprogramming and Yamanaka factors 17:54 - Blagosklonny's hyperfunction theory 20:17 - Hallmarks and pillars of aging 23:22 - Geroscience hypothesis explained 25:54 - First senolytic trial — dasatinib + quercetin for IPF 26:46 - Sinclair's epigenetic reprogramming in the eye 27:27 - The ~30% lifespan extension wall in mice 28:48 - Rectangularizing the curve: healthspan = lifespan 30:22 - Negligible senescence in bats and tortoises 32:28 - Partial reprogramming without cancer risk 33:53 - Steve Austad: most interesting man in geroscience 35:01 - The Austad-Olshansky bet on living to 150 37:38 - Longevity escape velocity 39:11 - Maximizing healthspan first 40:29 - XPRIZE Healthspan: $101M competition explained 42:14 - 744 teams — from high schoolers to Harvard 43:38 - Rapamycin, GLP-1 agonists, gene therapy landscape 46:07 - Finals: results-based, multi-system improvements 49:11 - Wildest and most unexpected entries 50:51 - Circadian rhythm team with dramatic results 52:43 - The heterochronic parabiosis dating app 54:07 - Timeline: finalists announced August 2026 55:51 - Winning nodes: metabolism and immune-targeting 57:03 - Reprogramming, mitochondria, and senolytics 58:32 - XPRIZE ovarian health prize 1:01:26 - Closing 📚 REFERENCES: Hallmarks of Aging (López-Otín et al., Cell 2013): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.05.039 XPRIZE Healthspan: https://www.xprize.org/prizes/healthspan https://www.robertlufkinmd.com https://www.robertlufkinmd.com/lies/ — **Enjoyed this episode?** Reviews on Apple Podcasts are the #1 way to help the show grow. Tap here to leave one in 30 seconds: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/health-longevity-secrets/id1585563694