Broadcast Date: May 17, 2023
Time: 9:00 am PT, 12:00 pm ET, 18:00 CET
Webinar being done by Genetic Engineering News:
Register here: Aging: Separating the Science from the Snake Oil
Richard Miller and Matt Kaeberlein
In the field of aging research, the line between science and pseudoscience is blurry. Very blurry!
When the supplements, diets, and quasi cures promoted on Instagram are pushed aside, some impressive science underlying the antiaging industry can be revealed. But discerning what claims are scientifically sound is challenging. It requires skepticism, a well-trained scientific eye, and a deep dive into the data.
On this episode of GEN Live, we’ll have a lively discussion about aging. We’ll parse fact from fiction and explore what the science really says about the possibility of lifespan extension.
A live Q&A session will follow the presentation, offering you a chance to pose questions to our expert panelists.
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Bryan Johnson is now selling Snake Oil. 
Hi Friends,
I renamed Blueprint EVOO to Blueprint Snake Oil. It is my dance with haters and a wink to my past constrained self.
- “I knew it! The whole scheme is just to scam idiots. No better than a snake oil salesman.” (ref)
- “This is the sales pitch of every cult and snake oil salesman.” (ref)
- “[Bryan Johnson] seems a rather bad poster boy for longevity, specially because he advertises scores of things that are probably snake oil or just cosmetic.” (ref)
The first 34 years of my life was defined by everything I couldn’t or shouldn’t do. People and institutions tell us what’s right and wrong; what’s worthy of pursuit or abhorrent; what is admirable or deplorable.
Twelve years ago, everything changed (more on this some other time). The most significant transformation was that life morphed into becoming a game of exploring everything I can or could do.
It’s resulted in the happiest, healthiest, and deepest gratitude I’ve ever felt for life.
People are the best things in our life; they’re also the worst. What does this have to do with Snake Oil? It’s an invitation for all of us to be courageous; to dare explore being our best selves. Resistant to the limitations that others work so hard to impose upon us.
Cheers friend to the best version of you.
Bryan
Blueprint Snake Oil
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EVOO? What was false about the original snake oil was not the claim, but the fact that the product did not contain any snake oil.
In traditional Chinese medicine, snake oil was used to relieve pain and inflammation and treat arthritis and bursitis. This is due to the high Omega-3 fatty acid content of Chinese water snakes, which, when used appropriately, can work as an anti-inflammatory.
Unfortunately, Chinese water snakes generally live in China. So, when supply dwindled from what was brought across the Pacific Ocean to the American West, people would turn to the next best option available: rattlesnakes.
Rattlesnakes are far less beneficial than Chinese water snakes for health problems relating to inflammation due to their low fatty acid content, making rattlesnake oil far less effective than the original.
Additionally, Stanley didn’t actually put rattlesnakes into his rattlesnake oil. After federal investigators seized the contents of one of his shipments, they began an official inquiry into his snake oil and found that the contents contained mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper, and turpentine.
Stanley was charged a fine of $20 for the violation of the Pure Food and Drug Act due to the misbranding of his product. Stanley then quickly slipped away from the annals of history a wealthy man. Yet, the mythos of the Rattlesnake King would live on, as he had become the first snake oil salesman in history.
"The first 34 years of my life was defined by everything I couldn’t or shouldn’t do. People and institutions tell us what’s right and wrong; what’s worthy of pursuit or abhorrent; what is admirable or deplorable.
Twelve years ago, everything changed (more on this some other time). The most significant transformation was that life morphed into becoming a game of exploring everything I can or could do.
It’s resulted in the happiest, healthiest, and deepest gratitude I’ve ever felt for life.
I couldn’t agree more.
Unfortunately, I didn’t discover this until I was 80.
3 Likes