What can a tiny worm tell us about human ageing, and could gut bacteria hold the key to a longer, healthier life?In this episode of Beyond Longevity, we sit down with Professor David Weinkove: Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor at Durham University, and Co-founder and CSO of Magnitude Biosciences. David's lab uses the short-lived nematode C. elegans to run fast, rigorous experiments looking for interventions that extend healthspan and lifespan, and the results are...
What can a tiny worm tell us about human ageing, and could gut bacteria hold the key to a longer, healthier life?
In this episode of Beyond Longevity, we sit down with Professor David Weinkove: Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor at Durham University, and Co-founder and CSO of Magnitude Biosciences. David's lab uses the short-lived nematode C. elegans to run fast, rigorous experiments looking for interventions that extend healthspan and lifespan, and the results are pointing in some surprising directions.
We cover how Prof David moved from physics into experimental molecular biology, how his team discovered that bacterial strains and metabolites can dramatically alter how long worms stay active, and what inhibiting bacterial folate synthesis reveals about the biology of ageing. He also explains how worm movement is a practical proxy for healthspan and why that matters for scaling up research.
The conversation gets into the thornier questions, too: when do you need mice, and when might you skip straight to human-relevant models? How do you fund prevention research when the payoff is decades away? And what are the real risks of mandatory folic acid flour fortification, a policy Prof David argues deserves more scrutiny, given potential microbiome effects we don't yet fully understand.
Prof David also unpacks what the BSRA does day-to-day: from connecting researchers and lobbying government to running small grants and building bridges with clinicians and industry, and why he thinks the longevity field's biggest enemy isn't scepticism, it's overpromising.
Plus, we discover the most extreme longevity idea he's ever come across (involving spare parts — we'll leave it there).
Links:
https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/david-weinkove/
Home - Magnitude Biosciences
HOME PAGE - BSRA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-weinkove-bab807b
In this episode:
00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Meet Prof. David Weinkove
02:40 From Physics to Bioscience: Career Origins & Model Organisms
04:29 The Breakthrough: How Bacteria (and Folate) Can Extend Worm Lifespan
09:12 Measuring Healthspan in C. elegans: Movement, Decline & New Tech
10:38 Why C. elegans? Fast Ageing, Whole-Organism Biology & Screening Power
12:19 Worms vs Mice: Similarity to Humans, Ethics, Cost & Experimental Variability
15:35 Translating Worm Findings to Humans: Microbiome Links, Exercise Paper & Next Steps
17:52 Funding the Science: UKRI, MRC vs BBSRC, and the Reality of Grant Constraints
20:52 Why Longevity Research Struggles for Support: Messaging, Hype & Prevention
28:39 BSRA’s Mission & the Five Pillars: Public Engagement, Advocacy, Fundraising, Translation
32:01 Breaking Down Silos: Making Longevity Research Useful (and Public)
34:07 Prevention Mindset: Why “Healthier for Longer” Isn’t Instant Gratification
36:15 When to Start Interventions: Metformin, Timing, and Trial Design Challenges
39:39 Why Magnitude Bioscience Exists: Fast Whole-Organism Ageing Screens
41:12 What Companies Test in Worms: From Candidate Drugs to 1,000-Compound Screens
42:48 Folic Acid Fortification & the Microbiome: A Potential Unintended Consequence
45:55 Should Government Engineer Health? Autonomy, Risk, and Public Policy Trade-offs
52:37 Ageing Demographics & the Case for Prevention-First Healthcare Investment
55:59 Making Longevity Matter to Everyday People + Rapid-Fire Q&A
01:01:47 Final Takeaways, Thanks, and Episode Wrap-Up
