A country claims to launch “magic pills” to live to 120: “We will live happily ever after and accumulate good things”

It sounded like science fiction, but the claim was delivered with complete confidence on Russian state television. During a recent broadcast of Mesto Vstrechi (“Meeting Place”), hosts Andrey Norkin and Ivan Trushkin introduced viewers to a future they said may arrive sooner than expected: a world in which people live actively until the age of 120.

Joined by Dmitry Psichalnikov and sociologist Lyudmila Brushkova, the presenters argued that Russian citizens could soon benefit from dramatic advances in pharmaceutical science.

“Very soon, our scientists will reach such a level of development in the pharmaceutical industry that there will be magic pills,” Norkin told viewers. “We’ll all live to 120. We’ll live happily ever after and accumulate all kinds of good things.”

Is the idea really that far-fetched?

While the TV segment leaned heavily into optimism, the underlying question isn’t entirely imaginary. Around the world, researchers are actively investigating whether a so-called “magic pill” could meaningfully slow aging and extend human lifespan.

In recent years, scientific progress in longevity research has accelerated, fueled by a deeper understanding of how aging works at the cellular level. That’s where one drug, in particular, has captured widespread attention.

The drug scientists are watching closely

Among the most promising candidates is rapamycin, also known as sirolimus, a prescription drug originally used to prevent organ transplant rejection.

Matt Kaeberlein, a leading researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle, says rapamycin stands out from other compounds studied so far. In animal trials—especially in mice—it has consistently shown the strongest and most reproducible results in extending lifespan and slowing the biological aging process.

According to Kaeberlein, no other drug tested to date has demonstrated the same level of reliability across multiple studies.

What the research actually shows

A scientific review of rapamycin research cautions that the scale of lifespan extension in humans remains uncertain. While both rapamycin and metformin have been studied for their anti-aging potential, results in vertebrates are still inconclusive.

Dietary restriction, often cited as one of the most effective ways to extend lifespan across species, has proven difficult for humans to maintain long-term. In contrast, rapamycin appears to mimic many of the benefits of dietary restriction without requiring extreme lifestyle changes.

The study found that rapamycin significantly extended lifespan in most cases, often to a degree comparable with dietary restriction. Metformin, by comparison, showed weaker and less consistent effects.

Researchers also noted that the drug did not appear to offer clear lifespan advantages for one sex over the other.

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