yewth

founded 2026. we are working towards human immortality. more hellos, no goodbyes.

the goal

Immortality is not science fiction. Biology already knows how to reset — every baby starts fresh. AI is cracking problems that were impossible a decade ago. People are treating their own terminal diagnoses like engineering problems and winning.

We don't know exactly when real rejuvenation therapies land. The job is simple: be alive when they do.That means treating your body like a system to optimize — measure it, find your weak spots, fix what you can today, and stay in the game long enough for tomorrow's cures.

yewth is an open experiment in that direction — starting with one test subject (yew) and building outward to a community of people running the same play: max human stats, refuse the die economy, publish what works.

supporting research

aging is a sickness

For most of medical history, aging was treated as inevitable — a natural process you don't diagnose, treat, or bill for. You treated the diseases aging causes: heart attacks, cancer, dementia, frailty. But you never treated aging itself.

That framing is breaking down. Researchers now identify specific biological hallmarks of aging — cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic drift, stem cell exhaustion, chronic inflammation, and more. These aren't vague "getting old." They're measurable mechanisms that can be targeted in animals and, increasingly, in humans.

The geroscience hypothesis: aging is the root cause of most chronic disease. If you slow or reverse aging biology, you don't just prevent one disease — you delay many at once. That's why treating aging as a medical condition matters. It's not semantics. It's strategy.

This is already moving into clinical reality. Trials like TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) aim to establish aging itself as a treatable indication. The WHO added ageing-related extension codes to ICD-11. Senolytic drugs that clear zombie cells are in human trials. Partial reprogramming — rolling cells back toward youth — works in animal models.

Calling aging a sickness doesn't mean being ashamed of getting older. It means refusing to accept decline as untreatable. The same way we learned to fight infections, we're learning to fight the biological damage that accumulates over time.

yewth is built on this premise: aging is not destiny. It's a set of problems we're learning to solve — and your job is to stay alive and healthy enough to benefit as the solutions arrive.

supporting research

  • The Hallmarks of Aging — López-Otín et al. (2013)

    Defines nine hallmarks of aging — genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. Foundational framing: aging has identifiable biological mechanisms, not just clock time.

  • Geroscience: Linking Aging to Chronic Disease — Kennedy et al. (2014)

    Argues that aging is the major risk factor for chronic disease and that targeting aging biology could delay or prevent multiple conditions at once — the scientific basis for treating aging as a modifiable process.

  • Biological Age in the ICD: MG2A and the Classification of Aging — World Health Organization (ICD-11) (2022)

    WHO added extension codes for "ageing-related" conditions in ICD-11, reflecting growing recognition that biological aging is a treatable state — part of the broader push to classify aging as a medical target, not inevitable decline.

  • TAME: Targeting Aging with Metformin — Barzilai et al. (2016)

    Proposed the first FDA-approved style trial to treat aging itself as an indication using metformin — a landmark attempt to establish aging as a legitimate clinical endpoint.

  • Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span — Furman et al. (2019)

    Reviews "inflammaging" — chronic low-grade inflammation that rises with age and accelerates nearly every age-related disease. Supports treating immune dysregulation as part of aging biology.

  • Senolytics Improve Physical Function and Increase Lifespan in Old Age — Xu et al. (2018)

    Clearing senescent cells with senolytic drugs improved healthspan in aged mice — one of the first demonstrations that targeting a hallmark of aging can extend healthy life.

  • In Vivo Reprogramming of Ageing Cells — Ocampo et al. (2016)

    Partial reprogramming with Yamanaka factors extended lifespan and restored tissue function in progeroid mice — early evidence that rejuvenation at the cellular level is possible in living animals.

what's to come

This site is just the beginning. Here's what we're building:

  • Open lab log — daily health, interventions, and outcomes from Subject Zero
  • Living protocols — versioned, measured, changelog-driven
  • Research library — studies behind every decision
  • Community cohort — run your own Subject N experiment
  • Verified marketplace — products and services that pass the yewth standard
  • Physical spaces — gyms, cafes, workspaces built for longevity

priorities — what to do with your life

These are the top things to work on as we push towards immortality. Not all at once — find your achilles, prioritize, measure, adjust. But this is the full map.

prevent and remove arterial plaque

Most people die from cardiovascular disease. Plaque builds silently for decades. The job is to know your numbers, reduce atherogenic particles, and stay ahead of blockages before they kill you.

how:

  • Track ApoB (or LDL particle number), not just LDL-C. Particle count matters more than the standard panel suggests.
  • Keep blood pressure in a healthy range — hypertension damages arteries even when cholesterol looks fine.
  • Don't smoke. If you smoke, quitting is the highest-leverage move available.
  • Zone 2 cardio most days — walking, biking, jogging at conversational pace. This improves endothelial function and lipid handling.
  • Strength training weekly — muscle mass correlates with better metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes.
  • Minimize ultra-processed food, added sugar, and excess alcohol. Inflammation feeds plaque.
  • If lipids stay high despite lifestyle, talk to a doctor about pharmacologic options — statins, ezetimibe, PCSK9 inhibitors. This is not failure; it's engineering.
  • Consider coronary calcium scan or advanced imaging if you have risk factors — you can't fix what you can't see.

supporting research:

prevent and reverse neurodegeneration

Your brain is not optional. Dementia and cognitive decline are not inevitable — they're downstream of vascular health, sleep, metabolic dysfunction, and decades of small insults.

how:

  • Protect sleep like your life depends on it — because it does. 7–9 hours, consistent schedule, deep sleep for glymphatic clearance.
  • Exercise is brain medicine — both cardio and resistance training reduce dementia risk in large epidemiological studies.
  • Manage cardiovascular risk aggressively — what's good for arteries is good for the brain. Vascular dementia is common and preventable.
  • Control blood sugar and insulin — metabolic dysfunction accelerates cognitive decline.
  • Maintain real social connection — loneliness and isolation are cognitive risk factors, not soft ones.
  • Limit alcohol. Heavy drinking is neurotoxic. Moderate drinking is not a health strategy.
  • Keep learning and doing hard cognitive work — use it or lose it is real, even if overstated.
  • Watch hearing (see below) — untreated hearing loss is linked to faster cognitive decline.

supporting research:

  • Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care — Livingston et al. (2020)

    Lancet Commission identifies modifiable risk factors for dementia — hypertension, hearing loss, smoking, obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity, social isolation, and more. A large fraction of dementia may be preventable.

  • Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults — Lin et al. (2013)

    Greater hearing loss associated with accelerated cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment — supports treating hearing as a brain health intervention, not a lifestyle accessory.

  • Sleep Duration and All-cause Mortality — Cappuccio et al. (2010)

    Meta-analysis linking short and long sleep with increased mortality — sleep is not optional for every other priority on this list.

target and eliminate cancers and pre-cancerous lesions

Cancer is a leading cause of death and often curable if caught early, lethal if caught late. The strategy is screen aggressively, remove precursors, and reduce lifetime exposure to carcinogens.

how:

  • Follow age-appropriate screening — colonoscopy, skin checks, and whatever your doctor recommends for your sex, age, and family history.
  • Don't skip screenings because they're uncomfortable. A colonoscopy beats stage IV colorectal cancer.
  • Remove pre-cancerous lesions when found — actinic keratoses, polyps, suspicious moles. Don't watch and wait out of denial.
  • Don't smoke. Limit alcohol. Both are classified carcinogens.
  • Maintain healthy body composition — excess adiposity and metabolic dysfunction increase cancer risk.
  • Know your family history — it changes screening timelines and genetic testing decisions.
  • Emerging tools (multi-cancer blood tests, full-body MRI) are getting better but aren't perfect. Discuss with a doctor, don't substitute for proven screening.
  • Stay alive for better therapies — immunotherapy, personalized vaccines, and early detection are improving fast.

supporting research:

prevent frailty — keep muscle, strength, and bone density

Muscle and bone are longevity organs. Frailty kills through falls, hospitalization, loss of independence, and metabolic collapse. You cannot buy back decades of skipped lifting.

how:

  • Resistance train 3–5x per week — full body, progressive overload. Heavy enough to challenge you safely.
  • Eat adequate protein every day — muscle synthesis requires amino acids. Most adults under-eat protein.
  • Get a DEXA scan — track lean mass and bone density, not just scale weight.
  • Don't neglect bone loading — impact and resistance both stimulate bone maintenance.
  • Maintain vitamin D and calcium status — especially if absorption is compromised.
  • One VO2 max session per week if your body allows — cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest mortality predictors we have.
  • Walk daily. Never sit for 8 hours straight. Movement is maintenance.
  • If you're recovering from illness or surgery, prioritize rehab early — deconditioning is harder to reverse the longer you wait.

supporting research:

reverse skin aging

Skin is the largest organ and a visible signal of biological age. Much of "aging" is photodamage, collagen loss, and chronic inflammation — all partially modifiable.

how:

  • Wear SPF 30+ daily on exposed skin. UV damage is the primary driver of premature skin aging.
  • Retinoids (prescription tretinoin or OTC retinol) are the most evidence-backed topical for collagen and cell turnover.
  • Don't smoke — smoking accelerates skin aging dramatically.
  • Sleep, hydration, and nutrition support skin from the inside. No cream fixes chronic sleep deprivation.
  • Emerging regenerative approaches (microneedling, laser, exosomes, stem-cell-derived therapies) are improving — research before spending.
  • Manage systemic inflammation — metabolic health shows up on your face.

supporting research:

rejuvenate eye health

Vision loss steals independence and quality of life. Macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy are largely preventable or treatable if caught early.

how:

  • Annual eye exam with dilation — not just a glasses check. Glaucoma and macular changes are silent until they're not.
  • Protect against UV — sunglasses outdoors.
  • Control blood sugar and blood pressure — diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy are leading causes of blindness.
  • Don't smoke — smoking increases macular degeneration risk.
  • AREDS2 formula may slow intermediate AMD progression — ask an ophthalmologist if it applies to you.
  • Reduce chronic eye strain — 20-20-20 rule, adequate lighting, screen breaks. Not a cure, but reduces fatigue.
  • Emerging gene and cell therapies for inherited retinal disease are real — stay alive and informed for what's next.

supporting research:

restore lost hearing

Hearing loss is undertreated and underappreciated as a health risk. It accelerates cognitive decline, social isolation, and depression — and much of it is preventable or correctable.

how:

  • Protect your ears — limit exposure to loud environments, use hearing protection at concerts and with power tools.
  • If you notice hearing loss, get tested. Don't wait years out of pride.
  • Use hearing aids if prescribed — modern devices work and the stigma is outdated. Untreated loss is worse than wearing aids.
  • Treat hearing loss early — the brain adapts poorly to prolonged deprivation.
  • Emerging therapies (hair cell regeneration, gene therapy) are in clinical trials — another reason to stay alive and monitor the field.
  • Address ear infections and blockages promptly — some "hearing loss" is fixable.

supporting research:

  • Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults — Lin et al. (2013)

    Greater hearing loss associated with accelerated cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment — supports treating hearing as a brain health intervention, not a lifestyle accessory.

  • Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care — Livingston et al. (2020)

    Lancet Commission identifies modifiable risk factors for dementia — hypertension, hearing loss, smoking, obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity, social isolation, and more. A large fraction of dementia may be preventable.

prevent metabolic dysfunction

Diabetes and insulin resistance drive heart disease, cancer, dementia, and kidney failure. Metabolic health is the hub most other systems plug into.

how:

  • Track fasting glucose, HbA1c, and fasting insulin — not just one marker.
  • Reduce ultra-processed food and added sugar. Whole foods, adequate protein and fiber.
  • Build muscle — it's a glucose sink. More muscle mass means better insulin sensitivity.
  • Walk after meals — blunts post-meal glucose spikes.
  • Maintain healthy body composition — waist circumference matters.
  • If prediabetic, treat it seriously — reversal is possible with aggressive lifestyle and sometimes medication.

supporting research:

maintain immune function and reduce chronic inflammation

Immune senescence and chronic low-grade inflammation ("inflammaging") accelerate every other age-related disease. Your immune system needs maintenance too.

how:

  • Sleep — immune function collapses with chronic deprivation.
  • Exercise — moderate activity enhances immune surveillance; extreme overtraining without recovery can suppress it.
  • Maintain adequate protein, zinc, and vitamin D — deficiencies impair immune response.
  • Stay up to date on vaccines appropriate for your age and risk profile.
  • Reduce chronic stress and loneliness — both suppress immune function.
  • Don't smoke. Limit alcohol. Both impair immunity.
  • Treat chronic infections and inflammation sources — gum disease, untreated sleep apnea, obesity.

supporting research:

  • Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span — Furman et al. (2019)

    Reviews "inflammaging" — chronic low-grade inflammation that rises with age and accelerates nearly every age-related disease. Supports treating immune dysregulation as part of aging biology.

  • The Hallmarks of Aging — López-Otín et al. (2013)

    Defines nine hallmarks of aging — genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. Foundational framing: aging has identifiable biological mechanisms, not just clock time.

protect kidney, liver, and organ function

You need your filters. Kidney and liver failure are slow, quiet, and deadly. Organ function is easy to ignore until it's an emergency.

how:

  • Annual metabolic panel — creatinine, eGFR, liver enzymes (ALT, AST).
  • Control blood pressure and blood sugar — top drivers of kidney damage.
  • Limit chronic NSAID overuse — kidneys pay the price.
  • Moderate alcohol or none — liver damage is cumulative.
  • Stay hydrated appropriately — especially if you have absorption or fluid balance issues.
  • Avoid unnecessary hepatotoxic supplements stacked without medical oversight.

supporting research:

  • Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span — Furman et al. (2019)

    Reviews "inflammaging" — chronic low-grade inflammation that rises with age and accelerates nearly every age-related disease. Supports treating immune dysregulation as part of aging biology.

  • Geroscience: Linking Aging to Chronic Disease — Kennedy et al. (2014)

    Argues that aging is the major risk factor for chronic disease and that targeting aging biology could delay or prevent multiple conditions at once — the scientific basis for treating aging as a modifiable process.

don't die before the good stuff arrives

The meta-priority. Real rejuvenation therapies — senolytics, partial reprogramming, better cancer vaccines, organ regeneration — are arriving on a timeline measured in years to decades, not centuries. Your job is to be here when they land.

how:

  • Sleep, move, eat real food, know your numbers — the boring 80% that buys decades.
  • Find your achilles heel and manage it aggressively until something better exists.
  • Avoid the die economy — junk food, doomscrolling, alcohol, tobacco, chronic stress for someone else's profit.
  • Bet on the right century — ai, longevity, energy. Stay informed, stay funded, stay connected.
  • Run the experiment publicly if you can — measure, change one thing, retest, publish. Community compounds motivation.
  • More hellos, no goodbyes.

supporting research:

articles and research

Everything on this page is grounded in published science. Below is the full reference library — read the primary sources, not just our summaries.

  • The Hallmarks of Aging — López-Otín et al. (2013) · Cell

    Defines nine hallmarks of aging — genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. Foundational framing: aging has identifiable biological mechanisms, not just clock time.

  • Geroscience: Linking Aging to Chronic Disease — Kennedy et al. (2014) · Cell

    Argues that aging is the major risk factor for chronic disease and that targeting aging biology could delay or prevent multiple conditions at once — the scientific basis for treating aging as a modifiable process.

  • Biological Age in the ICD: MG2A and the Classification of Aging — World Health Organization (ICD-11) (2022) · ICD-11 Extension Codes

    WHO added extension codes for "ageing-related" conditions in ICD-11, reflecting growing recognition that biological aging is a treatable state — part of the broader push to classify aging as a medical target, not inevitable decline.

  • TAME: Targeting Aging with Metformin — Barzilai et al. (2016) · Aging Cell (trial design)

    Proposed the first FDA-approved style trial to treat aging itself as an indication using metformin — a landmark attempt to establish aging as a legitimate clinical endpoint.

  • Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span — Furman et al. (2019) · Nature Medicine

    Reviews "inflammaging" — chronic low-grade inflammation that rises with age and accelerates nearly every age-related disease. Supports treating immune dysregulation as part of aging biology.

  • Apolipoprotein B Particles and Cardiovascular Disease — Sniderman et al. (2019) · JAMA Cardiology

    ApoB particle number may predict cardiovascular risk better than LDL-C alone — key evidence for aggressive plaque prevention through lipid management.

  • Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality — Mandsager et al. (2018) · JAMA Network Open

    Higher VO₂ max strongly associated with lower all-cause mortality. Elite vs. low fitness showed the largest survival gap — supports cardio and resistance training as longevity interventions.

  • Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care — Livingston et al. (2020) · The Lancet

    Lancet Commission identifies modifiable risk factors for dementia — hypertension, hearing loss, smoking, obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity, social isolation, and more. A large fraction of dementia may be preventable.

  • Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults — Lin et al. (2013) · JAMA Internal Medicine

    Greater hearing loss associated with accelerated cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment — supports treating hearing as a brain health intervention, not a lifestyle accessory.

  • Lutein + Zeaxanthin and Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AREDS2) — AREDS2 Research Group (2013) · JAMA

    AREDS2 refined the formula for slowing intermediate AMD progression — evidence-based eye health supplementation when indicated by an ophthalmologist.

  • Sarcopenia: Revised European Consensus (EWGSOP2) — Cruz-Jentoft et al. (2019) · Age and Ageing

    Defines sarcopenia as a muscle disease of aging — low muscle strength as primary criterion. Supports treating frailty and muscle loss as clinical targets, not normal aging.

  • Sleep Duration and All-cause Mortality — Cappuccio et al. (2010) · Sleep

    Meta-analysis linking short and long sleep with increased mortality — sleep is not optional for every other priority on this list.

  • American Cancer Society Screening Guidelines — American Cancer Society (2024) · ACS

    Evidence-based screening schedules for colorectal, breast, cervical, lung, prostate, and skin cancers — the foundation of early detection and precursor removal.

  • Effect of the Sun on Visible Clinical Signs of Aging in Caucasian Skin — Flament et al. (2013) · Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology

    UV exposure accounts for roughly 80% of visible facial aging signs — supports daily SPF as the highest-leverage skin intervention.

  • Retinoids in the Treatment of Skin Aging — Mukherjee et al. (2006) · Clinical Interventions in Aging

    Topical retinoids increase collagen synthesis and reduce fine wrinkles — the most evidence-backed topical for reversing photoaging.

  • Nutritional Ketosis and Type 2 Diabetes Reversal — Hallberg et al. (2018) · Diabetes Therapy

    Demonstrated sustained type 2 diabetes reversal through carbohydrate restriction and metabolic intervention — metabolic dysfunction is not always permanent.

  • Highly Accurate Protein Structure Prediction with AlphaFold — Jumper et al. (2021) · Nature

    AI solved protein folding at scale — 200 million structures. Biology's complexity is becoming engineerable, which is why staying alive for the next decades matters.

  • Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Human Fibroblasts — Takahashi et al. (2007) · Cell

    Adult cells reprogrammed to stem-cell-like state — proof that biological age can be partially reversed in the lab. The reset button exists.

  • In Vivo Reprogramming of Ageing Cells — Ocampo et al. (2016) · Cell

    Partial reprogramming with Yamanaka factors extended lifespan and restored tissue function in progeroid mice — early evidence that rejuvenation at the cellular level is possible in living animals.

  • Senolytics Improve Physical Function and Increase Lifespan in Old Age — Xu et al. (2018) · Nature Medicine

    Clearing senescent cells with senolytic drugs improved healthspan in aged mice — one of the first demonstrations that targeting a hallmark of aging can extend healthy life.

not medical advice. talk to a real doctor.