The Download: a biological de-aging contest and why LLMs don’t reason

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

A new contest pits competitors against each other in a race to biological youth

This week, I officially signed up for an unusual competition. One that rewards competitors for getting younger.

I recently turned 40, and I don’t need reminding that both time and my chronological age only tick forward. But this game is focused on competitors’ biological ages, figures that are meant to provide a better way to measure the age-related health of our organs and bodies.

Over six months, around 500 of us will try to reverse our biological age using a bunch of different measures. There’s even a leaderboard! But is it even possible to measure whether someone is getting younger?

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

Opinion: Don’t …