人类的基本欲望从未改变：渴望独一无二、备受青睐、享受奢华、广受欢迎、掌握权力，以及最终实现长生不老。永生的概念几乎见于所有宗教经典，甚至世界上现存最古老的文学史诗《吉尔伽美什史诗》中，也包含描述吉尔伽美什在面对挚友恩基杜离世、直面死亡必然性后，踏上寻找永生之旅的诗篇。近4000年后，一只开启的麦克风捕捉到了俄罗斯和中国领导人讨论医学和生物技术的进步是否终于能让人类更接近这一古老愿望的对话。
Basal human desires never change: to be positively unique, sexually desired, to live in luxury, to be popular, to hold power, and finally, to achieve immortality. The idea of eternal life can be found in almost every religious text, and even the world’s oldest surviving literary epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh, contains poems detailing Gilgamesh’s search for immortality after confronting the inevitability of death following the loss of his companion, Enkidu. Nearly 4,000 years later, a hot microphone caught the presidents of Russia and China discussing whether advances in medicine and biotechnology might finally bring humanity closer to that ancient ambition.
在这次交流中，俄罗斯总统普京谈到了器官移植的进展，而中国国家主席习近平则表现出谨慎乐观，引用预测称人类本世纪有望活到150岁。据报道，俄罗斯已投入数十亿美元资金用于器官移植研究和再生医学。
During the exchange, Russia’s Vladimir Putin spoke about advances in organ transplantation, while China’s Xi Jinping seemed cautiously optimistic, citing predictions that humans would be able to live up to 150 years of age this century. Russia has reportedly directed billions of dollars’ worth of funding towards organ transplantation research and regenerative medicine.
在基因工程和生物操控成为可能、真正的人工智能问世、太空旅行成为现实的时代，我们距离延长人类寿命还有多远？其背后的科学原理是什么？步入长寿生物技术领域与历史上专注于设计与生物靶点相互作用的化学物质的传统制药研究不同，生物技术利用生物系统本身来解决各类问题，包括医疗治疗。多年来，生物技术已成为医疗保健不可或缺的一部分，全球最畅销药物之一、癌症免疫疗法药物Keytruda（帕博利珠单抗）便是其成功的典范。最近，一个名为长寿生物技术的细分领域变得异常火热。其目标虽简明，使命却非易事：针对与年龄相关疾病的潜在生物学机制进行治疗，从而延长健康寿命（健康状态下的生命时长）或寿命（生存的总时长）。
In an era where genetic engineering and biological manipulation are possible, where actual artificial intelligence exists and space travel is a reality, how close are we to extending the human lifespan, and what is the science behind it? Enter longevity biotechnology Unlike traditional pharmaceutical research, which historically focused on designing chemicals that interact with biological targets, biotechnology uses biological systems themselves to tackle various problems, including medical treatments. Over the years, biotechnology has become integral to healthcare, with the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, one of the world’s best-selling drugs, as an example of its success. More recently, a subfield called longevity biotechnology has become incredibly fashionable. The aim is simple, even if the mission is not: to treat the underlying biological mechanisms of age-related diseases, resulting in increased healthspan (the period of life spent in good health) or lifespan (the period of time one is alive).
治疗衰老或与年龄相关疾病的想法并非新事物。相传中国第一位皇帝秦始皇在寻求长生不老药的过程中，因疑似汞中毒而驾崩。快进到20世纪20年代，亚历山大·波格丹诺夫开创了从年轻人向老年人输血以延缓衰老进程的方法（几乎没有证据证明其有效）。此后，众多书籍和期刊刊文探讨以各种方式应对衰老过程，也有公司为此应运而生。然而，近年来，长寿生物技术领域的投资激增。福布斯近期的一篇文章称其为继人工智能后亿万富翁们的下一个大赌注。仅2026年第一季度，长寿生物技术公司融资额便达约37.4亿美元。如今已有专门针对衰老与长寿的学术期刊。制药公司渴望看到长寿治疗的临床试验结果。那么，该领域发生了什么变化，引发了这股热潮？
The idea of treating ageing or age-related illnesses is nothing new. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, is said to have died from suspected mercury poisoning in his search for the elixir of immortality. Skip ahead to the 1920s, when Alexander Bogdanov pioneered blood transfusions from the young to the old as a method to slow the ageing process (there is little proof that it worked). Numerous books and journals have since been published on tackling the ageing process in various ways, and companies have been founded to do the same. Yet, in recent years, investment in longevity biotech has skyrocketed. A recent Forbes article called it the billionaire’s next big bet after artificial intelligence. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, longevity biotech companies raised approximately $3.74bn. There are now academic journals dedicated to ageing and longevity. Pharmaceutical companies are eager to see clinical trial results on longevity treatments. So, what has changed in the field to cause this hype?
发现衰老的标志 在学术演讲中，典型的长寿研究演讲者会问观众：“弓头鲸和裸鼹鼠有什么共同点？” 两者都拥有极长的寿命，且对癌症有着惊人的抵抗力。 对比长寿生物与短命生物，以及同一物种的年轻个体与年老个体，是现代长寿研究的核心。
Discovering the hallmarks of ageing In academic talks, the typical longevity speaker would ask the audience, “What is the commonality between a bowhead whale and a naked mole rat?” Both have very long lifespans and are remarkably resistant to cancer. Comparing long-lived organisms with short-lived ones, and young members of the same species with old ones, lies at the heart of modern longevity research.
在细胞和分子层面，科学家现在通过十二个相互关联的过程来理解衰老，这些过程统称为衰老的标志。这些标志包括基因组不稳定性和慢性炎症等因素。研究人员已确定了许多调节此类过程的基因。在动物模型中操纵这些基因，已改善了老年动物的健康和功能指标。在某些情况下，还显著延长了寿命。不同研究团队和动物模型中反复出现的发现，已开始让许多投资者和科学家相信，我们可能正站在真正非凡突破的门槛上。
At the cellular and molecular levels, scientists now understand ageing within the context of twelve interconnected processes, collectively called the hallmarks of ageing. These include factors like genomic instability and chronic inflammation. Researchers have identified numerous genes that regulate such processes. Manipulating them in animal models has improved measures of health and function in older animals. In some cases, it has also significantly extended lifespan. Repeated findings across different research groups and animal models have started to convince many investors and scientists that we might be on the cusp of something truly remarkable.
人工智能与减肥药：成功激发对下一个突破的期待 应对衰老是一项宏大的事业，按预测本需要数十年的科学研究和数十亿美元的资金。此类宏大挑战往往伴随着对试图解决它们的公司的谨慎投资。棘手的大难题需要一支极其出色的科学家团队，或是经过反复验证的扎实科学成果。这些都不易获得。然而，目前投资正如潮水般涌向全球各地的年轻长寿公司。
AI and obesity drugs: Success fuels excitement for the next breakthrough Tackling ageing is a grand undertaking, one that would have been predicted to take decades of scientific research and billions in funding. Grand challenges like this tend to come with cautious investment in companies attempting to solve them. Big, tough problems will require either a fantastic team of scientists or solid science that has been validated through and through. Those do not come easily. Yet, investments are currently overflowing into young longevity companies all over the world.
这与近期人工智能行业的整体繁荣，以及减肥药在制药界取得的巨大财务成功有关。人们有一种感觉，我们正在逼近生物学领域的突破。衰老是每个人类字面意义上都会经历的事情，而我们正处于一个预测老龄化人口将成为经济更大负担的时代。没有比这更好的市场了。如果抗衰老治疗取得突破，利润将不止于巨大，投资者希望届时能分一杯羹。
This has something to do with the recent boom in the AI industry in general, and the fantastic financial success of obesity drugs in the pharmaceutical world. There is a certain feeling that we are getting closer to breakthroughs in biology. Ageing is something that is literally experienced by every human being, and we are in an era where ageing populations are predicted to become larger burdens on their economies. There is no better market than this. If a breakthrough happens in the treatment of ageing, the profits will be more than enormous, and investors want to be there when it happens.
减肥药的案例在此尤具参考意义。肥胖是一种复杂的、多因素导致的疾病。它与遗传和环境因素、生活水平、社会经济阶层等相关。虽然减肥药已存在一段时间，但其疗效通常有限，且伴随显著局限性。普遍的看法是，在人口层面治疗肥胖没有捷径。如今高效减肥药的问世改变了游戏规则。它们跻身全球十大畅销药之列，且效果出奇地好。
The case of obesity drugs, in particular, is quite relevant here. Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disease. It is linked to genetic and environmental factors, living standards, socioeconomic class, etc. Though obesity medicines have existed for a while, their effectiveness was generally modest and came with significant limitations. The general impression was that there were no shortcuts when it came to treating it at the population level. The introduction of highly effective obesity drugs today has changed the game. They are among the top 10 best-selling drugs in the world, and they work surprisingly well.
如果科学家今天能攻克像肥胖这样复杂的问题，凭什么说他们明天不能攻克衰老？
If scientists are able to solve something as complex as obesity today, what is to say they cannot solve ageing tomorrow?
介于现实与乐观之间 与肥胖不同，衰老是绝大多数生物都会经历的生物学现实。也就是说，它内嵌于我们的生命系统之中。试图治疗或操控如此普遍存在的事物，几乎总会产生副作用，且很可能是严重的副作用。
Between realism and optimism Unlike obesity, ageing is a biological reality that most living organisms experience. That is to say, it is baked into our living systems. Attempting to treat or manipulate something this ubiquitous will almost always have side effects, likely big ones.
由于临床试验仍处于早期阶段，我们尚不清楚那些副作用是什么。在我们真正了解任何长寿生物技术方法是否能有意义地延长人类健康寿命或寿命之前，可能需要数年，甚至数十年。部分原因在于美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）目前并不将衰老本身视为疾病靶点。这意味着生物技术公司必须证明其疗法对特定疾病或可衡量的健康指标有益。
As clinical trials are still in their early stages, we do not know what those side effects are yet. It is going to take years, likely decades, before we truly know whether any longevity biotech approaches can meaningfully extend human healthspan or lifespan. Part of the reason for that is the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not currently view ageing itself as a disease target. This means that biotech companies will need to demonstrate benefits against specific diseases or measurable aspects of health.
在理论层面，也存在障碍。例如，长寿生物技术的一个分支正试图操控DNA修复过程。人类DNA每天都会受损；我们的细胞擅长修复它，但在衰老过程中效率会降低。操控DNA损伤修复可能为长寿疗法铺平道路。然而，这低估了该过程的复杂性及其对体内不同细胞的潜在影响。例如，产生抗体的细胞（称为B细胞）会刻意在其DNA中引入突变，以产生有效的抗体。如果DNA修复长寿疗法导致B细胞执行这一功能的能力下降，无法预测这将如何影响患者的免疫系统。
At the theoretical level, there are also roadblocks. One branch of longevity biotech, for instance, is attempting to manipulate the process of DNA repair. Human DNA gets damaged every day; our cells are experts at repairing it but become less effective in old age. Manipulating DNA damage repair could pave the way for longevity therapies. However, this understates how complex the process is and how it could impact different cells in the body. Antibody-producing cells (known as B cells), for example, deliberately introduce mutations into their DNA in order to produce effective antibodies. If DNA-repair longevity therapies result in B cells having a reduced capacity to do that, there is no telling how it would affect the patient’s immune system.
数十年的临床研究告诉我们，操控身体的一个方面往往会在另一部分产生不良副作用。抗生素会改变我们的微生物群并筛选出耐抗生素细菌。化疗也会杀死体内许多健康的快速分裂细胞。
Decades of clinical research have taught us that manipulating one aspect of our body will have an undesirable side effect in another part of it. Antibiotics alter our microbiome and select for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Chemotherapy also kills many healthy fast-dividing cells in the body.
也许总有一天我们真能治疗衰老，但绝非朝夕之功。更重要的是，这可能要以破坏其他基本生物过程为代价。生命系统花费了数十亿年平衡衰老、免疫、繁殖、生长与维持。想要治疗衰老，必须以一种不过度破坏这种平衡的方式对其进行微调。
Perhaps we will truly be able to treat ageing someday, but it will not be anytime soon. More importantly, it may come at the cost of disrupting other essential biological processes. Living systems have spent billions of years balancing ageing, immunity, reproduction, growth and maintenance. Those wishing to treat ageing will have to fine-tune it in a way that does not disrupt that balance too much.