
The Physics of Aging: Why 150 Years Is Our Lifespan Limit | Dr Peter Fedichev
Dr. Peter Fedichev, co-founder and CEO of Gero, explains how his company uses physics and AI to understand aging and develop new therapies.
Core Concepts- Physics of Aging: Aging is viewed as irreversible entropic damage – akin to wear-and-tear. A thermodynamic biological age serves as a fundamental, non-reversible clock.
- Maximum Lifespan: Current limit is around 120–150 years – even with the best medical interventions, the maximum lifespan cannot be extended, only the average.
- GLP-1 as Proof-of-Concept: GLP-1 agonists demonstrate that one drug can affect multiple age-related diseases simultaneously – evidence for the geroscience approach.
- Three Layers of Aging:
- Irreversible damage (thermodynamic age) – cannot be reversed, only slowed.
- Reversible damage (e.g., metabolic diseases) – treatable with drugs.
- Chronic diseases – addressing single diseases (e.g., diabetes) yields only a few extra years.
- Goal: Use existing technologies to raise average lifespan (80–90 years) to the maximum (120–150 years) – a gain of up to 40 years.
- Measurement: Thermodynamic biological age is derived from various biomarkers (proteomics, metabolomics, facial features) and predicts recovery time after stress.
- Partnerships: Collaboration with pharma (e.g., Chugai/Roche) to identify new drug targets for diseases; in parallel, in-house development of anti-aging drugs.
- Diet and Exercise: Caloric restriction and physical training increase physiological reserve (e.g., VO2max, muscle mass).
- Mental Fitness: Keep the brain active.
- Social Connections: Self-esteem, social integration, and satisfaction have a huge impact on health – often underestimated.
- Regular Check-ups: Early detection of problems.
- Within 1–2 years, Gero hopes to validate strong anti-aging drug candidates in the lab.
- Through pharma partnerships, first clinical trials could start in a few years.






