Yanwen’s blog

8/14/2026

I recently borrowed an e-book from our library, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity by Eric Topol, a New York Times bestseller.

The book draws on a wide range of research on aging and healthspan. One study described in Chapter 2, “It’s in Your Genes?”, caught my attention.

It was the Wellderly research project, which began in 2008 at Scripps Research.

The researchers wanted to understand why some people remain remarkably healthy well into old age. Topol describes the study participants this way:

“People who were at least 80 years old and had never been sick or had a chronic illness.”

It took the researchers almost six years to identify about 1,400 people who met this unusually strict definition of healthy aging and agreed to participate. The participants provided blood samples so that researchers could sequence and analyze their entire genomes—roughly three billion letters of DNA.

The researchers had an obvious hypothesis: perhaps these exceptionally healthy older people possessed special genes that protected them from the diseases associated with aging.

They were wrong.

Topol writes:

“Despite the arduous and expensive task of sequencing and interpreting whole genomes several years ago, there wasn't much in their DNA to illuminate the basis for healthy aging.”

Their genetic risk markers for Alzheimer's disease and heart disease were only marginally better than those of the general population.

What stood out instead were their lifestyles and characteristics.

The Wellderly participants had an average age of about 84. Compared with the general population of older Americans, they were almost 30 pounds lighter, exercised more, and had more education.

They were also remarkably socially active and optimistic.

The research nurse who interviewed them found them to be unusually upbeat. Many belonged to bridge clubs, participated in dancing, maintained active circles of friends, or volunteered in their communities. Some participants were still so active well into their nineties that it was difficult to find a convenient time to schedule an appointment with them.

And there was an amusing contradiction: some were still smoking cigarettes—in some cases, as many as two packs a day.

In other words, these people weren't following some perfect longevity formula.

After years of studying them, the researchers had failed to find a simple genetic explanation for their exceptional healthspan. But that failure itself was revealing.

As Topol puts it:

“While our multiyear study failed to demystify the role of our DNA in attaining the most long-lived health span, it opened our minds to other factors.”

Topol estimates that genetics accounts for roughly 25–30% of lifespan outcomes, with lifestyle and environmental factors accounting for much of the rest.

The important distinction here is between lifespan and healthspan.

Lifespan is simply how long you live.

Healthspan is how many of those years you live in good health, without significant disease or disability.

And that distinction is important.

The Wellderly study challenge the idea that exceptional aging is simply a matter of winning the genetic lottery.

The most striking lesson for me is this: favorable genes may give you an advantage, but your genes don't necessarily determine how well you age. There are a lot more within our control than we thought.

And that is encouraging.

To be continued...

8/13/2026

Today I heard the news about the Beijing–Ulaanbaatar C919 flight on August 12, 2026. It is being described as a genuine milestone for China's homegrown passenger aircraft.

The C919 entered domestic commercial service in 2023. Since then, it has expanded its operations within China and has also flown to Hong Kong. But August 12 marks another important threshold: the C919 is beginning scheduled international passenger service, with Air China operating a daily round trip between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar.

This is an important step in China's attempt to break into a market that has long been dominated by the Boeing–Airbus duopoly.

But we should keep things in perspective. The C919 flying to Mongolia does not mean that China has become a global competitor on equal footing with Boeing and Airbus. The Ulaanbaatar route is relatively short, and the aircraft is being operated by China's own national carrier. There are still enormous challenges ahead, including international certification, production at scale, global maintenance and support, and winning the confidence of airlines and passengers around the world.

In other words, this is a milestone, but it is not the finish line.

And that makes me think of what Mao Zedong said on March 5, 1949, shortly before the establishment of the People's Republic of China:

“夺取全国胜利，这只是万里长征走完了第一步。” (Duóqǔ quánguó shènglì, zhè zhǐshì Wànlǐ Chángzhēng zǒu wán le dì yī bù)

“Winning nationwide victory is only the first step in the Long March.”

At that time, China was often described as 一穷二白 (yī qióng èr bái)—economically poor and industrially and technologically underdeveloped.

The numbers help put that starting point into perspective.

In 1949:

• China's population was about 542 million.

• Average life expectancy was only about 35 years.

• Per-capita annual national income was about 69 yuan.

• Per-capita annual electricity consumption was only 7.9 kWh.

• Per-capita steel production was about 0.29 kg.

• Per-capita crude-oil consumption was only 0.2 kg.

China was overwhelmingly an agricultural economy. One economic-history source estimates that agriculture accounted for 68.4% of national income in 1949, while industry accounted for only 12.6%.

The phrase 一穷二白 described a country facing an enormous gap in industrialization, infrastructure, technology, capital, and living standards compared with the advanced industrialized countries of the time.

Then came a long journey.

1949 — 一穷二白
China began its postwar reconstruction from an extremely poor and underdeveloped industrial base.

1978 — Reform and Opening
China began a dramatic transformation of its economy, opening itself to foreign technology, capital, trade, and markets.

2023 — C919 enters commercial service
China begins operating its own domestically developed large passenger aircraft.

2026 — C919 begins scheduled international service
The aircraft crosses another important threshold, beginning to operate an international passenger route.

And this brings me to a phrase that has nothing to do with China, but somehow seems strangely appropriate here.

In 1968, the cigarette company Virginia Slims launched a famous advertising slogan aimed at women:

“You've come a long way, baby.”

This phrase has entered the English language as a way of describing how far someone—or something—has traveled from where it began.

Looking at China from 1949 to 2026, it's highly appropriate to say,  “You've come a long way, baby.” 

But there is another phrase that is just as important:

“这只是万里长征走完了第一步。”
This is only the first step in the Long March.

The two ideas actually belong together.

Recognize how far you have come. Appreciate the milestone. But don't mistake a milestone for the destination.

That is true of a country. And it is true of a person.

No matter how far the C919 has come, and no matter how remarkable the transformation from 一穷二白 to a Chinese-built large passenger aircraft may be, there is still a long road ahead.

You've come a long way, baby. But keep walking.

A reader’s comment: “还是对造不如买，买不如租论调的彻底认清和否定。终点线是领导人坐着自己的飞机走访列国。美国，德法，俄罗斯做到了。” 👍 

8/12/2026

On American social media, I recently came across the story of two Chinese boys, Zhu Jinxiang (朱金祥) and Zhong Huaqiang (钟华强), who grew up in the same village in Jiangxi Province, China.

Zhong was born with cerebral palsy and could not walk normally. Beginning in elementary school, Zhu and his classmates took turns helping him get to school and classrooms.

From elementary school through high school, Zhu and Zhong were repeatedly classmates and eventually became desk mates, sharing the same desk in the classroom.

As they grew older, Zhu became the person who regularly carried Zhong to school and around the campus. He continued doing so through middle school and high school—roughly ten years in all.

But their friendship was never one-sided.

Although Zhong was physically disabled, he was excellent academically and often helped Zhu with subjects such as mathematics and English. Zhu said that whenever he felt disappointed or discouraged, Zhong would encourage him. In other words, Zhu provided physical support, while Zhong provided academic and emotional support.

In 2023, they took the Gaokao together and hoped to attend the same university. Zhong went on to university, while Zhu decided to repeat his senior year because his score was not high enough.

Their story made me think again about today's young Chinese.

It is easy to look at the phenomenon of 啃老族—young adults who remain dependent on their parents—and conclude that an overprotected generation has become less resilient or less willing to shoulder responsibility. 

China is a vast country, with enormous differences in family background, geography, economic circumstances, and upbringing. We should be careful not to turn one social phenomenon into a description of an entire generation.

There are many young people who did not grow up in highly protected environments. In some rural and less affluent families, children may have had to become independent and take on responsibilities at a relatively young age. Many of them develop strong willpower, resilience, and a willingness to shoulder responsibility.

Zhu and Zhong remind us that people born in the same decade can grow up under dramatically different circumstances.

Within the same generation, we can find young people who grew up highly protected, as well as young people capable of extraordinary responsibility, sacrifice, loyalty, and mutual support.

This makes me wonder: What circumstances help cultivate these qualities? What kinds of childhood experiences encourage independence, resilience, and responsibility? And what conditions, by contrast, may foster dependence or difficulty coping with adversity?

Most importantly, Zhu and Zhong remind us that China is too large and diverse to be reduced to a single generational stereotype.

Resilience does not belong to one generation. Neither does compassion.

In the end, what makes their story so touching is not simply that Zhu carried Zhong for ten years, but that both boys showed qualities of loyalty, kindness, resilience, and mutual support that are deeply admirable and inspiring.

A young friend’s encouraging words to me today , “您能坚持每天写作已经非常难能可贵了！好文章需要时间发酵和传播！写作本身也是一件滋养自己、记录思考的美好事情。您的视角和深度很有价值，相信用心输出慢慢会被更多人看到！”

8/11/2026

Lately, news has been spreading about Joe Biden's worsening cancer. What caught my attention was another article reporting Jill Biden's concern that Joe had experienced symptoms while he was still in the White House, but that his medical team followed the prevailing guidelines and did not perform PSA screening after his last known test in 2014.

Jill Biden said Joe was getting up as many as seven times a night to urinate while he was still in the White House, and that she raised the issue with medical staff. After he left office, the symptom persisted and eventually led to further evaluation. In May 2025, he was diagnosed with Gleason 9 (Grade Group 5) prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.

The first thing that jumps out: his last known PSA was in 2014

11 years ago when he was 71. Why not performing one for his recent nocturia problem?

Because the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends against routine PSA screening for men 70 and older because, at the population level, the potential harms of screening—including false positives, biopsies, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment—can outweigh the benefits.

So I would not say that his doctors were negligent. Nor do ordinary people have enough medical expertise to conclude from one case that the recommendation itself is wrong.

Still, this case raises some legitimate questions.

--Was the general screening guideline appropriate for every individual, particularly an otherwise healthy older man with access to unusually comprehensive medical care?

--More importantly, how were his urinary symptoms interpreted? Were they considered ordinary age-related symptoms, or did their severity and persistence warrant further evaluation?

--If routine screening is stopped in older men, shouldn't new and significant symptoms receive even greater attention?

--And could an unusually aggressive cancer, an age-based decision to discontinue routine PSA screening, and persistent urinary symptoms have combined to create a blind spot?

Screening an asymptomatic man is one thing. Persistent symptoms are another.

Getting up seven times a night to urinate is substantial nocturia. It can have many causes, including cancer.

The point is that persistent and significant changes in the body deserve attention, regardless of what the general screening guidelines say.

My health, I take responsibility for

There is a Chinese saying:

我的健康我做主
Wǒ de jiànkāng wǒ zuòzhǔ. "My health, I take responsibility for."

This does not mean we should ignore medical experts or decide for ourselves what tests and treatments we need. It means we should not passively outsource responsibility for our health to doctors, medical systems, or guidelines.

Keep in mind that guidelines are population-level recommendations, not personal guarantees.

If you develop significant symptoms, instead of thinking about the general guidelines, you should notice the changes in you and ask what it means for you.

This is personal responsibility. You are the person who experiences your body 24 hours a day.

You are the best observer of your own body, which makes you qualify as an essential member of your own healthcare team.

Don't blindly follow experts and don't blindly distrust them

The lesson I learn from this is: we should work with our doctors rather than simply follow them passively.

Ask questions. Understand the reasoning behind recommendations. Know your risk factors. Pay attention to changes in your body. Tell your doctor in details about unusual symptoms. Ask whether a general recommendation applies to your particular circumstances. And when something doesn't make sense, seek a second opinion.

Everything about you is unique: your health history, your risk factors and your body. So listen to the experts. Respect the guidelines. Meanwhile, never surrender your own judgment and responsibility.

No one knows your body better than you do. You may not be the expert on medicine, but you are the ultimate caretaker of your own health.

From a reader, “ 非常赞同！指南是人群层面的大方向，但每个人都是独一无二的.”

8/10/2026

I was deeply disturbed when I read a Guardian article on August 8, 2026, reporting a sharp increase in the number of UK children reporting sexually explicit deepfake images made to appear as though they depict them.

The Report Remove service received 420 such reports in the first six months of 2026—already more than the 397 reports it received during all of 2025. The majority of manipulated-image reports in 2025 and 2026 reportedly met the threshold for child sexual abuse material.

A few points are worth highlighting.

First,  an ordinary photograph of a child can potentially be manipulated by AI into sexually explicit material. The original photograph does not have to be sexual.

Second, some victims have subsequently been subjected to sextortion, with perpetrators threatening to distribute the fabricated images unless the victim pays money or provides additional images.

Third, the problem is not limited to children who deliberately post revealing photographs. The article reports cases in which criminals scraped ordinary school or social-media photographs and used AI to transform them into explicit images.

Fourth, the UK has already criminalized AI-generated child sexual abuse material, as well as the distribution of models adapted to produce it. Yet the rapid development of generative AI is creating new challenges for law enforcement and online platforms.

Fifth, this technology dramatically lowers the barrier to certain forms of crime and exploitation. A criminal no longer needs access to a victim, a compromising photograph, or even a photograph that was originally intended to be private. An innocent image posted online may be enough raw material.

The Internet Watch Foundation and the UK National Crime Agency are now advising parents and schools to reduce the public availability of identifiable photos of children.

The most disturbing implication is that the traditional advice—don't post inappropriate pictures of your child online—is no longer sufficient. The photo itself does not have to be inappropriate. The danger may lie in what someone else can do with it.

This creates a new responsibility for today's parents. Every time we share a child's photograph, we should consider not only who can see it today, but also what technology may allow someone to do with it tomorrow.

For generations, parents have tried to protect their children from dangers they could see: strangers, unsafe places, harmful substances, or inappropriate people. Parents should be keenly aware that the digital world has introduced a different kind of danger—one that can begin with something completely innocent and happen entirely out of sight.

And to parents everywhere: don't assume that because these cases were reported in the UK, this is a British problem. It is a global problem. The technology behind these abuses does not stop at national borders, and neither do the images once they are uploaded to the internet. What is happening to children in the UK today could happen to a child anywhere in the world tomorrow—or may already be happening without being reported.

That is why this is not simply a story about British children or British law. It is a warning to parents everywhere about the new risks created by AI.

It may be an innocent act when we take and share a beautiful picture of a child. In the age of AI, we also have to think about what it could become after we share it.