Why We Die

And How We Live: The New Science of Ageing and Longevity

By: Venki Ramakrishnan

Narrated by: John Moraitis

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A major exploration of the science of why and how we age and die - from a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and former president of the Royal Society.

The knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. Our fear of death has underpinned our religions, inspired our cultures, and also driven our science. Today we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in our understanding of why we age and die, and why some species live longer than others. Immortality, once a faint hope, has never been more within our grasp.

Here, Nobel Prize-winning biologist Venki Ramakrishnan offers a definitive look at why we die - and whether we can do anything about it. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our natural biology and how this raises profound questions. Although we might not like it, might death might serve a necessary biological purpose? And what are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever? As science advances, we have much to gain. But might we also have much to lose?

Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.

©2024 Venki Ramakrishnan (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

'I have so enjoyed reading this spectacular book - it's full of hope and fun and extraordinary research. It beautifully answers the question at the core of every life. Understanding why we must die helps us understand how we must live. It changed my perspective on the whole living world but most of all myself and the time I have left.' (Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People)

"It is rare to find a book that manages to combine science, politics, memoir and medicine with ease, grace and lucidity. Ramakrishnan's book, which comes at a time when the hype and hope around immortality has ascended to a febrile pitch, achieves precisely all of this, while taking readers on an incredible journey that encompasses the knowns and many unknowns that surround the science, mystery and metaphysics of death and dying. This is a book for many generations, about many generations." (Siddhartha Mukherjee)

"Why We Die is a candid, wide-ranging, and hype-free survey of the latest in longevity research, from tortoises to telomeres. With his delightful gift for storytelling, Venki Ramakrishnan breathes life into the biology of death. If you want to know what science tells us about lifespan, Why We Die is the only book you need." (Safi Bahcall, bestselling author of Loonshots: Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries)

'A wide-ranging look at the changes that take place inside our cells as we age, the prospects for being able to prevent them, and the possible consequences of doing that. An engrossing read.' (Sarah Gilbert - creator of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine)

Lots to admire, but some big blind spots

There's lots to admire in the new book "Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality" by distinguished scientist Venki Ramakrishnan (Nobel prize winner and former President of the Royal Society). But it falls short in some key aspects too.

First, the good points. It is clearly written, and easy to follow. It provides an excellent survey of ideas about the science of aging, including lots of recent research. It filled in parts of my understanding which were rusty or incomplete.

The science is interspersed with potted biographies of some of the people within the longevity research community. They're entertaining but not always directly relevant. They're also questionable in places (like getting the biblical age of Methuselah wrong by over 100 years).

Unfortunately, he fails to properly engage with the damage repair approach of Aubrey de Grey, and uncritically repeats some rather old objections to it. That approach points out that much of the huge complexity of biological metabolism can be side-lined. You don't need to alter these complex biological metabolisms to prevent them from creating that damage. Instead, it's much simpler (though still hard, of course) to design interventions that periodically remove or repair that damage. It's a pity this approach wasn't addressed fairly, and that the book chose to laugh at the idea.

Moreover, whereas Ramakrishnan is sure-footed with his explanations of biology and chemistry, he is out of his depth in his comments about transhumanism. The description he provides of transhumanism is far too narrow.

The reason that's important is because the transhumanist literature contains extensive discussion of topics that he says no-one has thought hard about, namely the broader societal implications of people around the world living longer healthier lives.

For example, a significant part of my own 2016 book "The Abolition of Aging" addresses these questions, and I'm far from being the only person to have written about these topics at such length.

Another person with important insights (and data!) about the implications of longer lives is Andrew Scott, whose book "The Longevity Imperative" appeared just a few days before the one by Ramakrishnan. It contains extensive economic analysis.

I'll end with another positive comment. Ramakrishnan points to various problematic aspects of the broader community that is sometimes uncritically over-enthusiastic about biorejuvenation treatments. Alas, that "longevity shadow" (my term) is pushing potential allies away.