Matthew D. LaPlante Books
LaPlante is a journalist and associate professor of journalism at Utah State University, specializing in science communication.
Known for: Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To, The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
Books by Matthew D. LaPlante

Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
In this groundbreaking work, Harvard geneticist David A. Sinclair argues that aging is a disease—and that it is treatable. Drawing on decades of research, Sinclair explains the biological mechanisms o...

The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
What if the secret to a longer, healthier life were not hidden in an expensive supplement, a cutting-edge medical procedure, or the latest fitness trend, but in the quiet routines of a remote village?...
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The Information Theory of Aging
The heart of my argument rests on what I call the Information Theory of Aging. Biology, at its core, is about information — not just genetic code but how that code is read and executed. Our DNA is astonishingly stable, like the hard drive storing the body’s instructions. Yet over time, the epigeneti...
From Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
The Role of Sirtuins and NAD+
In my lab, the quest to understand longevity led us to sirtuins — a family of genes that act as the guardians of cellular health. When I first began studying them, few could imagine their significance. Sirtuins regulate the body’s responses to stress and scarcity, maintaining genomic stability and e...
From Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
Discovery of Bapan Village
Sometimes the most powerful medical insight comes from a place that looks ordinary. When Dr. John Day first learned of Bapan Village in China’s Guangxi Province, he was skeptical. Reports claimed that the village had an unusually high concentration of people living beyond one hundred, many of them s...
From The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
Purpose and Human Connection Matter
A long life is hard to sustain if you have no reason to rise each morning. One of the strongest impressions Day took from Bapan was that its oldest residents were not merely surviving; they remained woven into the life of their families and community. They had responsibilities, relationships, and a ...
From The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
Natural Movement Beats Extreme Exercise
Health is often built through motion so ordinary that it barely feels like exercise. In Bapan, the centenarians did not rely on punishing workout plans or expensive fitness equipment. They walked, climbed, lifted, squatted, gardened, cooked, and worked with their hands. Their movement was frequent, ...
From The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
Whole Foods Nourish Long-Term Health
The simplest food is often the most powerful medicine. In Bapan, the diet of the centenarians was not trendy, restrictive, or complicated. It centered on vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and other minimally processed foods. Meals were modest, local, and seasonal. Rather than eating for sti...
From The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China
About Matthew D. LaPlante
LaPlante is a journalist and associate professor of journalism at Utah State University, specializing in science communication.
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LaPlante is a journalist and associate professor of journalism at Utah State University, specializing in science communication.
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