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Would you want to live forever? Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan transforms our understanding of why we age and die – and whether there's anything we can do about it. We are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in our understanding of why we age and die, and why some species live longer than others. Immortality, once a faint hope, has never been more within our grasp.
Examining recent scientific breakthroughs, Ramakrishnan shows how cutting-edge efforts to extend lifespan by altering our natural biology raise profound questions. Although we might not like it, does death serve a necessary biological purpose? And how can we increase our chances of living long, healthy and fulfilled lives? As science advances, we have much to gain. But might we also have much to lose?
Venki Ramakrishnan won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for uncovering the structure of the ribosome. He runs the Ramakrishnan Lab at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. From 2015 to 2020, he served as president of the Royal Society in London. He is the author of the scientific memoir Gene Machine.
"I have so enjoyed reading this spectacular book – it's full of hope and fun and extraordinary research. It beautifully answers the question at the core of every life. Understanding why we must die helps us understand how we must live. It changed my perspective on the whole living world but most of all myself and the time I have left."
– Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People
"Utterly fascinating. Venki Ramakrishnan's ability to take the most challenging subjects and make them clear, enthralling and packed with insights fills me with awe."
– Bill Bryson
"Riveting and revealing. Why We Die takes us on a thrilling ride through the science of ageing and death. Venki Ramakrishnan, a Nobel laureate at the very cutting edge of molecular biology has an extraordinary gift for explaining the science behind ageing and death with clarity, wit and enviably entertaining narrative flair. A must-read."
– Stephen Fry
"Ramakrishnan's writing is so honest, lucid and engaging."
– Siddhartha Mukherjee, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies
"For a book about death, Venki Ramakrishnan's Why We Die is joyfully alive. The story he tells is one of aging and death, but along the way he covers a huge range of biology, evolution, genetics, chemistry, and medicine. This is science writing at its finest: readable, authoritative, and impactful."
– Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
"A wide-ranging look at the changes that take place inside our cells as we age, the prospects for being able to prevent them, and the possible consequences of doing that. An engrossing read."
– Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, creator of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine
"Fascinating [...] An illuminating account of the science of life extension with a more critical eye than most."
– Kirkus
"A strikingly pensive exploration of how bodies decline and whether efforts to slow that process are worth the cost."
– Publishers Weekly
"This erudite, nuanced and insightful book tells a rich tale of discovery about why we age and die, skewers some charlatans along the way and offers just a glimmer of hope about immortality."
– Matt Ridley, author of Genome
"A crisply written, captivating and clear-eyed view of death. From research on starvation diets, young blood and cryonics to the longevity of naked mole rats, Nobelist Venki Ramakrishnan introduces us to a cast of extraordinary characters in his quest to fathom how elastic lifespan could prove to be. I believe Why We Die will be his enduring legacy."
– Roger Highfield, OBE
"Why We Die is a candid, wide-ranging, and hype-free survey of the latest in longevity research, from tortoises to telomeres. With his delightful gift for storytelling, Venki Ramakrishnan breathes life into the biology of death. If you want to know what science tells us about lifespan, Why We Die is the only book you need."
– Safi Bahcall, bestselling author of Loonshots: Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
"Why We Die brilliantly captures the essentials of current understanding of the aging process. This is an enjoyable romp through molecular and cell biology – and thought-provoking about ethical issues."
– Linda Partridge, Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing
"Explains, in an accessible and entertaining manner, the science behind one of the great themes of humanity. Excellent."
– Michael Hall, Discoverer of TOR, recipient of the Lasker Award and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
"An amazing book: profoundly philosophical, funny and scientific, all at once."
– Edith Heard, Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory
