Longevity and cellular peptides

This is the most speculative corner of the course, aimed at aging itself and the machinery inside your cells. The human evidence is the thinnest here, so this is where you should be most skeptical.

Epitalon (eh-PIT-uh-lon) is the best known. It is a four-amino-acid peptide studied for its effect on telomeres (TEE-luh-meers), the protective caps on the ends of your DNA that shorten as cells divide and age. The theory is that Epitalon helps maintain them. Some intriguing long-term Russian studies exist, but they are old, small, and not widely replicated.

MOTS-c works at a different level, inside the mitochondria (my-toh-KON-dree-uh), the tiny power plants in your cells. It is tied to metabolism and energy. There is interest in it for both aging and metabolic health, though most of the work so far is in animals.

You will also see NAD+ discussed alongside these. It is a related molecule rather than a peptide, used for cellular energy.

Be honest with yourself in this category. The science is early and the marketing runs far ahead of the proof.