Understanding How Nutrition Affects Epigenetics

XPRIZE

Outcome

A better understanding of how individuals’ epigenetics are influenced by their dietary choices.

Impact

Tools to monitor epigenetic changes (i.e. how specific genes are expressed) in individuals could help medical researchers and practitioners provide more meaningful health recommendations. The data obtained could also aid in accelerating drug development and approval. Finally, as people become more aware of the changes occuring in their bodies, they would also better understand just how desperately longevity and life extension treatments are needed.

Relevant Technologies and Techniques

• Sensors
• 5G internet (for data sharing)
• Crowdsourcing (for funding and data collection)
• Open source (for data sharing)
• Personalization of treatments
• Epigenetic mapping

NickOttens

@BruceGerman, @Karu, @AnilKumarChauhan, @sandrodemaio, you might have thoughts on this.

This is one of the potential breakthroughs that was developed at XPRIZE's recent Future of Longevity Lab. Our objective here is to develop breakthroughs that can radically extend human life. Would this be practical? Effective? And what is the timeframe we should be thinking about for a proof of concept and for mass-scaling?

NickOttens

@Amy_Proulx , @Karu, @GinaQuattrochi, @Aubreymen, as food and nutrition experts, you may be interested in this discussion as well.

It's one of the potential breakthroughs we're examining in the Longevity Community, where our goal is to identify means to radically extend human life.

Also see the Could boosting the gut microbiome be the secret to healthier older age? discussion in this context.

Some of our key questions here are:

• Would this really be a breakthrough, or is it more of a gradual improvement?
• Is anyone, other than XPRIZE, likely to work on this -- or already working on this?