Alan Cohen, PhD, is an evolutionary biologist and aging researcher at Columbia University, where he is Chair of Biological Complexity and Healthy Longevity, and Co-Director of the Science of Health Program at the Columbia Aging Center. For more than two decades he has used complex systems theory to study how the body maintains dynamic equilibrium, and his recent work develops the concept of “intrinsic health,” the biological core of how well our systems hold together.
In this conversation, we look past the marketing of the longevity industry and return to first principles. Alan explains why scientists still can’t agree on what aging is, why “reversing” it may be close to impossible, and why biological age clocks carry a hidden danger: many hallmarks of aging are actually cancer defenses. We also discuss mitochondria and the body’s energy budget, how routine blood markers can signal decline months before death, and the surprising overlap between Alan’s framework and traditional medicine. We close on why purpose, community, and service may matter more for your health than any supplement stack.
Topics Discussed
How longevity science shifted from “what is aging?” to Silicon Valley’s push to “solve” it
Why aging has no single scientific definition, and the problem of “many agings”
Is aging a vector? What it would really mean to “reverse” or “slow” aging
Species that don’t appear to age (hydra) and why they still die
Aging as entropy: information, order, and imperfect error-correction in the body
Mitochondria, energy budgets, and why the body can’t simply burn more energy
Sarcopenia as a possible adaptive response rather than a disease
Can you score aging? Epigenetic clocks, biomarkers, and their limits
The aging–cancer trade-off: senescence, inflammation, and telomeres as cancer protection
The problem of testing anti-aging drugs in 20-year-olds whose effects play out decades later
Dialysis research showing coordinated biomarker instability about three months before death
Intrinsic health vs. realized health
The three pillars of intrinsic health (energy, communication, structure) and their parallels in Chinese medicine
Balance vs. extremes: marathons, bodybuilding, and sedentary living
Reductionism vs. complex systems thinking, and the role of philosophy of science
Alan’s personal health practices
This was a great ice-breaker of a conversation, and really enjoyed speaking with Alan. I hope to have him on again so we can flesh out some of the things we covered today.
And don’t forget to show Alan some love! His substack is called Dynamic Entropy. Would highly recommend checking it out.
