Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has put together an all-star team of scientists, including Nobel laureates, to launch Altos Labs, which will assist certain individuals to "avoid death."
The Bezos-backed business also claimed that it has acquired more than $3 billion in investment at launch, in addition to a staff of outstanding scientists and researchers. Altos Labs has offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Cambridge, England, and substantial partnerships in Japan.
VAN HORN, TEXAS - JULY 20: Jeff Bezos speaks about his flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard into space during a press conference on July 20, 2021, in Van Horn, Texas. Mr. Bezos and the crew that flew with him were the first human spaceflight for the company.
Jeff Bezos Hires Top Doctors, Nobel Prize Laureates as Altos Labs Researchers
The Observer said Altos Labs emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday. Jeff Bezos' startup company revealed that Hal Barron, the chief scientific officer and president of the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), will be the CEO this summer. Since 2018, Barron has been in charge of GSK's research and development. Earlier in his career, he held different executive positions at Genentech and then Roche, the parent firm of Genentech.
According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Barron served as the president of R&D at Calico Life Sciences, a longevity startup founded by Google co-founder Larry Page, whose business is similar to that of Altos Labs, which focuses on cell reprogramming to "restore cell health and resilience to reverse disease, injury, and the disabilities that can occur throughout life."
Frances Arnold, Board member, and Nobel laureate added that with Altos they aim to "restructure our approach to health by understanding, slowing, and even reversing the processes that lead to illness and death."
Several Nobel Laureates have joined the board of directors of the firm. Shinya Yamanaka, a 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine for his work in stem cell research, Jennifer Doudna, a co-winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her role in developing the gene-editing tool CRISPR, Frances Arnold, a 2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for her work on enzyme engineering, and David Baltimore, a 1975 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, is among those honored.
ALSO READ: Jeff Bezos Wants To Live Forever With Altos Lab's Help; Why Is He Cheating Death Anyway?
Altos Labs Wants to "Improve Healthspan"
According to the Financial Times, Altos Labs has a lot riding on its development in anti-aging technology, which is expected to help it transcend death. On the other hand, Altos Labs stressed that their primary goal is to increase healthspan and longevity is just "an unintended byproduct."
Financial Times added that Alto Labs' goal is to figure out how to revitalize cells under stress from the environment. Cells impacted by genetic defects, injuries, and aging are their research subjects. The researchers theorized that by "reprogramming cells," they may discover a treatment for all ailments.
Millionaires Also Funding Altos Lab
The entire scenario appears to be something out of a science fiction novel. Bezos isn't the only billionaire who's putting money into Alto Labs. On the other hand, many important personalities invest in this gigantic initiative. Futurism said Yuri Milner, a Russian-Israeli billionaire, is also helping to develop anti-aging technologies.
The company's mission is to accomplish biological reprogramming. It is a technique for rejuvenating cells that have outlived their usefulness. As a result, the cells can mend your body as it ages and cures age-related illnesses like dementia.
Only time will tell if this billionaire-backed company can help us live perpetually young. At the very least, we'll discover that if all the money in the world and a team of top scientists can't fight death, then maybe nothing can.
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