Elsbeth is a murder mystery show. It is similar to Columbo. In the first scene, the murder occurs. We all know who the murderer is. Elsbeth quickly figures that out. However, she needs to get proof. It is a how do you catch them show.

One of the episodes last year was about a billionaire. He had an obsession with longevity. When he found he had liver failure, he committed a murder to get a liver transplant from the healthy victim.

It sounds kind of far-fetched. However, it is not as far-fetched as you might think. Billionaires have spent a great deal of time, effort, and energy trying to extend their lifespan.

One of them has developed a plan that he spends $2 million on annually. He takes dozens of daily supplements. He maintains a strict vegan diet. He does continuous monitoring of his body systems. He tries experimental things like infusing young blood plasma into his veins.

Another one takes the diabetic drug metformin. It has been shown to be an unproven longevity and anti-aging tool.

One takes human growth hormone injections. His goal is to live to be 120 years of age. There is no proof that growth hormone actually extends life.

Many of them use hyperbaric chambers. Some use ice baths. Some use sleep-tracking devices. Some get repeated blood panels. Several of them invest in companies whose goal it is to prolong life.

Elon Musk believes that aging is an engineering problem to be solved. It is about resetting the individual’s biological clock.

None of these methods are proven. Unfortunately, they are not alone. An online search I did looking at current medical news showed multiple articles looking at life-extending therapies.

Headlines included looking at genetic factors to address aging. The plan is to find genetic markers. These markers can then be turned on or off by using specific interventions. They may be dietary interventions. They may be lifestyle interventions. They may be pharmacologic interventions.

Another looked at addressing insomnia. They looked at a total of 100 patients. The biological markers that they used to determine changes are not necessarily associated with longer life. So there is little valuable information in the study.

A third one looked at artificial sweeteners. That study suggested 1.6 years of brain aging in individuals over an eight year period. That means that non users of sweeteners had brains that aged 8 years. Users had brains that aged 9.6 years. The problem was that they did not actually measure sweetener use. They went by what people reported. In addition, the findings only applied to individuals under age 60. Past that age, there was no difference. They also did not separate out other potential poor health behaviors between users and non-users. Therefore, users of sweeteners could have had more other risky behavior as well. They could have eaten more unhealthy things figuring they were saving calories on what they drank.

There is no question that extending the life span is a hot topic. That is especially true for billionaires. Right now there are no good answers. We know from Elsbeth that taking liver from a murder victim is not the right course of action.