ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What can a fruit fly teach us about living longer?Kennedy Schaal, known in longevity circles as "the fly queen", joins Pierre Jacob and Meronn Jacob on Transcribed. She has spent nearly 20 years breeding long-lived Methuselah flies and working out which genes help them outlive their peers.Kennedy tells us how a first-year lecture by Michael Rose at UC Irvine pulled her away from a career in medicine and into aging research. She explains why flies, which share a large part of our genome and fall apart in similar ways, are such a useful model, and how her own line of "super-Methuselah" flies now lives around eight months.We also talk about neurosymbolic AI: what it is, how it differs from the chatbots most people know, and why Kennedy thinks a system that explains *why* matters when you're about to spend grant money on an experiment.Then we get to the hype. Kennedy gives her view on supplements, peptides and Bryan Johnson, on bold timelines to "cure all disease", and on why she believes open, decentralized collaboration will move the field faster. She closes with the two longevity levers she thinks get too little attention: sleep and community.In this conversation:◼️ How a Michael Rose lecture changed Kennedy's career◼️ Methuselah flies and what they share with us◼️ From an academic lab to a longevity biotech company◼️ Neurosymbolic AI, explained with a cake and a stew◼️ Separating serious science from hype◼️ Bryan Johnson, biohacking and the cost of extremes◼️ Can AI really speed up the end of disease?◼️ Why Kennedy champions decentralized research◼️ Sleep and community: the overlooked levers◼️ How to get started in the longevity fieldTranscribed Podcast: in-person interviews with scientists, founders, and industry experts shaping the future of biotech and pharma.New episodes every Tuesday at 16:00 (Europe/Berlin).🎙️ Watch all episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@TranscribedPod📥 Free Biotech Starter Pack: https://transcribedpod.com🌐 https://transcribedpod.com📸 Instagram: @transcribedpod📧 thetranscribedpod@gmail.com🎵 Jingle composed by Tembeh: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4s9JmadJjVdYQ6YxYtJgja#TranscribedPodcast #Longevity #AgingResearch #Biotech00:00 Introducing Kennedy Schaal00:36 How a Michael Rose lecture led her to aging research02:39 Methuselah flies and what flies share with us06:09 From the lab to a longevity biotech company08:15 Super-Methuselah flies and AI across species09:27 What is neurosymbolic AI?13:12 Separating serious science from hype15:05 Is Bryan Johnson good for the longevity field?17:50 Can AI cure all disease in five years?21:03 Why a decentralized research network?22:38 Sleep and community: the overlooked levers25:28 How to get started in longevity
