We are now in the later stages of the first generation of life extension, which involves applying the current class of pharmaceutical and nutritional knowledge to overcoming health challenges. In the 2020s we are starting the second phase of life extension, which is the merger of biotechnology with AI. The 2030s will usher in the third phase of life extension, which will be to use nanotechnology to overcome the limitations of our biological organs altogether. As we enter this phase, we'll greatly extend our lives, allowing people to far transcend the normal human limit of 120 years. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission.

IMAGE: This figure depicts an AI-driven drug discovery workflow schematic. Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, London, UK: Researchers from the Biogerontology Research Foundation, Insilico Medicine, Life Extension and other institutions announce the publication of a landmark study in the journal Aging on the identification of natural mimetics of metformin and rapamycin. Metformin, a common type 2 diabetes drug, and rapamycin, a common anti-rejection drug, have both been shown to have substantial anti-aging and anti-cancer effects in a variety of model organisms. However, both compounds have known side effects and are regulated drugs for existing disease indications, factors that problematize their off-label use as healthspan extending drugs. In this study, the researchers applied deep-learned neural networks to profile the safety and gene- and pathway-level similarity of more than 800 natural compounds to metformin and rapamycin, in an effort to identify natural compounds that can mimic the effects of these anti-cancer and anti-aging drugs while remaining free of the adverse effects associated with them.

In 2005 I attended a high-level symposium that sought a solution for an obstacle that was delaying the discovery of cures for human illnesses. The obstacle is "information overload." Stated simply, there is too much data being published for any single person to read, analyze, and connect it with over ten million existing biomedical papers. The presenters at the 2005 symposium declared there to be enough published data to cure lethal diseases, but no efficient way to tie it together in a meaningful way. I immediately understood what these computer experts were seeking.

In March 2016 Insilico Medicine initiated a research collaboration with Life Extension to apply advanced bioinformatic methods and deep learning algorithms to screen for naturally occurring compounds that may slow down or even reverse the cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging. Today Life Extension (LE) launched a new line of nutraceuticals called GEROPROTECTTM, and the first product in the series called Ageless CellTM combines some of the natural compounds that were shortlisted by Insilico Medicine's algorithms and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). "Life Extension's mission is to extend the healthy human lifespan; and as such, we are focused on identifying natural products with critical health and wellness properties," said Andrew G. Swick, PhD, senior vice president of scientific affairs, discovery research and product development for Life Extension. "Our collaboration with Insilico Medicine fostered a novel approach to formulating anti-aging supplements utilizing artificial intelligence and sophisticated biologically-inspired algorithms and resulted in the very first AI formulated supplement," Swick said. The global nutraceuticals market was valued at US$165.62 billion in 2014 by Transparency Market Research and is expected to reach US$278.96 billion by 2021.

Artificial intelligence is already gaining steam as one of the most-talked-about tech trends of 2017. It's one of those umbrella terms that's easy to throw around. But away from the big conferences and debates about tech's role in society, the hard work to develop the predictive technology is happening. One of those spots is the Eastern Campus of the Emerging Technology Centers, where Insilico Medicine is working to develop algorithms that can help select and develop the right drugs. The company sees artificial intelligence as a path to reduce the use of animal testing in developing pharmaceuticals, and is even working on a virtual human to simulate how drugs affect the body.

Zoltan Istvan is many things: a journalist, a futurist and entrepreneur. Mostly, though, he's been a cheerleader for the transhumanist movement, a philosophy focused on merging humans together with technology. To live forever as a new post-human species. Istvan kicked off a presidential campaign as head of the Transhumanist Party in 2014, mostly to spread the word about the movement. We sat down to talk with him about his experience running for president, and why voters should care about the transhumanist movement. Was the process of running this campaign what you expected? My campaign has been pretty much to always spread the message around transhumanism. It was never to win, and I said that from the very beginning. What I didn't expect is that I would very quickly enter into the top 10 candidates for almost the entire two years. Just three years ago, I signed with one of the major websites that puts you together with candidates.

The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returns to land in a time exposure at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on the launcher's first mission since a June failure, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, December 21, 2015. Today's billionaires regularly channel their wealth into traditional areas of philanthropy like education and public health. Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to eradicate polio and malaria, Warren Buffet has pledged to give 85 percent of his Berkshire Hathaway wealth to the Gates Foundation and other charities, and duty-free shopping magnate Charles Feeney's giving includes almost 1 billion of donations to his alma mater, Cornell University. READ MORE: Cancer'moonshot' panel releases blueprint, but lacks guarantees on funding But the richest of the rich are also devoting significant resources to futuristic moonshots. Two billionaire fixations have caught my attention: space travel and life extension.

David Hanson and I share a similar background in media, art and design. Where we are different is in our focus: I designed "Primo Posthuman" as a future body prototype for exploring theoretical ideas regarding regenerative media, nanorobots and AGI. Alternatively, David is actually building humanoid robots -- including the Robokind commercial robot humanoid, and a variety of extremely realistic robot heads, incorporating unprecedentedly realistic facial expressions and voice. This interview covers some of David's work in this area, including its exciting broader implications. Along with the Robokind, Hanson's celebrated robots have included the Philip K. Dick Android, the walking Einstein portrait Albert-Hubo (in collaboration with KAIST, and pictured below), and Bina48 (to be discussed below). Hanson has received awards from NASA, NSF, AAAI, Tech Titans' Innovator of the Year, and Cooper Hewitt Design.

Insilico Medicine and Life Extension announced today an exclusive collaboration to identify novel biomarkers of human aging through the use of big-data analytics and AI, with the ultimate goal of discovery and formulation of nutrients to support health and longevity. Insilico Medicine* is a big-data analytics company specializing in applying advances in deep learning to discovery of biomarkers and drugs. Life Extension**, a Florida-based organization established in the early 1980s, is a dietary-supplement innovator dedicated to extending healthy human longevity. Insilico Medicine will focus on applying advanced signaling pathway activation analysis techniques and deep-learning algorithms to find nutraceuticals that mimic the tissue-specific transcriptional response of many known interventions and pathways associated with health and longevity. Life Extension will use this information to develop novel nutraceutical products to support health and longevity, such as "geroprotectors" -- precision natural organic small-molecule formulations that slow down or even reverse age-associated conditions and damage.

Meet the Woman Who's Created the 21st Century Finance Model for Emerging Technologies Riva-Melissa Tez is the CEO and co-founder of Permutation in San Francisco. A London native, she runs an artificial intelligence platform and incubator. In her spare time, she works on The Longevity Cookbook, alongside Maria Konovalenko and Steve Aoki, which is a book that distills academic research into practical measures for slowing the aging process. This is an edited transcript of a recorded interview. I learned important lessons about money at a very early age. At 10, I moved into a homeless shelter after my father left my mother. My mother is severely schizophrenic -- which can be both chaotically fun and devastatingly traumatic -- and was not well enough to look after herself, let alone me at the time. Amongst other things, she used to make me drink the milk in the morning first to check if it had poison in it. A few years later, at 14, we moved into social housing.