{
  "id": 11410150,
  "title": "A new contest pits competitors against each other in a race to biological youth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/a-new-contest-pits-competitors-against-each-other-in-a-race-to-11410150",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-02T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MIT Tech Review Biotech",
    "slug": "mit-tech-review-biotech",
    "url": "https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/02/1145610/younger-contest-race-to-biological-youth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new competition has emerged, challenging participants to compete in the race for biological youth. The contest, initiated by neuroscientist and physician Christin Glorioso, founder and CEO of NeuroAge Therapeutics, aims to measure and improve participants' biological ages. Biological age refers to an estimate of a person's health based on factors like DNA chemical signatures, proteins, and lipids, which change as we age. Over six months, around 500 people will participate in the contest, competing to have the greatest difference between their chronological and biological age, as well as the most significant biological age reversal.\n\nGlorioso's goals for the Younger contest include raising awareness about aging clocks and generating a comprehensive dataset on these clocks. Regular Checkup readers might be familiar with these tools, which are designed to measure biological age using various methods, such as epigenetic chemical groups, proteins, and lipids in blood, or functional health and predicted life expectancy.\n\nParticipants will submit blood spot samples for epigenetic analysis, cognitive tasks for brain age scoring, physical measures like grip strength, and facial aging estimates via an app developed by Harvard. Some participants will also receive additional tests and scans, including red-light masks and sauna access sponsored by partner companies. Data from the competition may help researchers understand the significance and accuracy of biological age predictions.\n\nThe competition is already gaining traction, with around 120 participants already signed up, and Glorioso expects the full 500 participants by the official start in January. Some competitors are already sharing their baseline measurements, with some boasting biological ages significantly below their chronological age. The contest officially begins in January, but participants can begin their six-month race whenever they choose.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MIT Technology Review",
        "title": "A new contest pits competitors against each other in a race to biological youth",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/a-new-contest-pits-competitors-against-each-other-in-a-race-to",
        "published": "2026-10-02T09:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}