Aaron Traywick Explained

Aaron Traywick
Birth Date:19 December 1989
Birth Place:Elmore, Alabama, U.S.
Death Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education:University of Montevallo

Aaron James Traywick[1] (December 19, 1989 – April 29, 2018) was an American businessman and life extension activist in the transhumanism and biohacking communities. He sought to develop gene therapies[2] to make inexpensive treatments available for incurable conditions such as AIDS and the herpes simplex virus.[3] [4] His lack of any medical training and his unconventional methods—such as broadcasting an associate injecting himself with an "untested experimental gene therapy", then later doing the same to himself in an onstage public demonstration—drew widespread criticism.

Education

Aaron Traywick was a resident of Elmore, Alabama, and a graduate of Stanhope Elmore High School.[5] He graduated from the University of Montevallo in Alabama with a degree in interdisciplinary studies; he held no background in the sciences or formal training in clinical medicine.[6]

Career

From January 2016 to his termination in July 2016, he worked to advocate investment in radical approaches towards anti-aging at the Global Healthspan Policy Institute started by his cousin.[7] [8] In 2017 he founded Ascendance Biomedical in Washington, D.C., with the mission to "make cutting edge biomedical technologies available for everyone".

Traywick's self-administered do it yourself homemade gene therapies received substantial media attention.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] In October 2017, Ascendance Biomedical shared a live broadcast of Traywick's associate Tristan Roberts injecting himself with an "untested experimental gene therapy" for HIV over Facebook's live-streaming service.[21] During a presentation at the February 2018 BodyHacking Con in Austin, Texas, Traywick injected himself with something he referred to at the time as a "research compound". In a later conversation with BBC reporters, he spoke of it as a "treatment" for Herpes virus, a term with a specific meaning subject to FDA regulations.[22] Shortly after the event, the FDA issued a statement on the inherent dangers of this approach to untested gene editing, without mentioning the company by name:[23]

At the time of his death, Traywick was planning a CRISPR gene therapy trial for the treatment of lung cancer in Tijuana, Mexico,[24] [25] and served as managing director for Inovium Rejuvenation,[26] which was conducting pre-enrollment for FDA-approved trials in several US locations to reverse menopause, rejuvenate ovaries, restore fertility, and bring hormone levels back in line with those found in youth.[27] [28] [29]

He is featured as a subject in the 2020 Showtime documentary Citizen Bio, directed by Trish Dolman.[30] He is also a subject in the limited Netflix series Unnatural Selection.[31]

Death

On April 29, 2018, Traywick was found dead in a sensory deprivation isolation tank, or "float pod," at a float spa in Washington, D.C., aged 28.[32] [33] [34] His body was discovered after spa staff noticed that he did not leave the float room after his appointment time had ended and the tank had automatically drained.[35]

A spokesperson for the spa told news media that drug paraphernalia was found among Traywick's belongings, though police did not confirm this at the time. Traywick's autopsy, reported on in June 2018, concluded that he died from drowning; the drug ketamine was also found in his system. Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, is sometimes used as a recreational drug.[36]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Aaron Traywick - Inovium Rejuvenation. Inovium Rejuvenation. May 1, 2018. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501094053/https://inoviumrejuvenation.com/aaron-traywick. May 1, 2018. dead.
  2. News: CEO Who Tested DIY Herpes Treatment Locks Himself in Lab as Fellow Biohackers Abandon Him. Brown. Kristen V.. February 12, 2018. Gizmodo. May 1, 2018. en-US. Ascendance says it is working to cure cancer, herpes, HIV, and aging. In October 2017, the company encouraged Roberts to inject himself with an untested gene therapy that the company claimed was capable of curing his HIV. That test was live-streamed on Facebook. In an early February 2018 biohacking conference in Texas in which Traywick injected himself on-stage, Traywick claimed the company may have created a vaccine and cure for herpes. This attracted much ire from the biohacking community..
  3. News: A biotech CEO explains why he injected himself with a DIY herpes treatment on Facebook Live. Mullin. Emily. MIT Technology Review. May 1, 2018. en.
  4. News: A Biohacker Regrets Publicly Injecting Himself With CRISPR. Zhang. Sarah. The Atlantic. May 1, 2018. en-US.
  5. Web site: Mr. Aaron James Traywick: Obituary & Service Information. Brookside Funeral Home Memorial Services. en. May 6, 2018.
  6. News: DC Spa Confirms Controversial CEO Aaron Traywick Died on Its Premises Washingtonian. May 1, 2018. Washingtonian. May 4, 2018. en-US.
  7. https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/01/global-healthspan-policy-institute-launches/ Jan. 25, 2015: New Thinktank to Promote Research, Innovation for Treatment of Underlying Causes of Aging-Related Disease
  8. News: Death of a Biohacker. The New York Times. May 19, 2018. Bromwich. Jonah Engel.
  9. Web site: Biohackers Injecting Themselves on the Internet with Homemade Drugs is a Thing . American Council on Science and Health. www.acsh.org. February 8, 2018 . en. May 1, 2018.
  10. News: Bodyhackers: Bold, inspiring and terrifying. Lee. Dave. February 8, 2018. BBC News. May 1, 2018. en-GB.
  11. News: Why I injected myself with an untested gene therapy. Lussenhop. Jessica. November 21, 2017. BBC News. May 1, 2018. en-GB.
  12. News: People Are Treating Themselves With DIY Gene Therapies and the Government Is Getting Worried. February 8, 2018. Popular Mechanics. May 1, 2018. en-US.
  13. News: A biohacker injected himself with a DIY herpes treatment in front of a live audience. The Verge. May 1, 2018.
  14. News: Surprise! It's a bad idea to hack your body, says prominent biohacker. February 22, 2018. Futurism. May 1, 2018. en-US.
  15. News: Biohacker Injects Himself With Untested Experimental Herpes Therapy On Facebook Live. IFLScience. May 1, 2018. en.
  16. News: Biohacker Publicly Edits His Own DNA, Massively Regrets It. IFLScience. May 1, 2018. en.
  17. News: BioEdge: Biohacking: the future of the biosciences?. BioEdge. May 1, 2018.
  18. Web site: r/Transhuman - The "Future Grind" podcast has an interview with Aaron Traywick, the CEO of Ascendance Biomedical, who injected himself with an experimental herpes treatment while on stage at the BDYHAX human augmentation conference in Austin.. reddit. February 24, 2018 . en. May 1, 2018.
  19. Web site: The Future Grind Podcast: Science Technology Business Futurism: Ep. 15 - Aaron Traywick of Ascendance Biomedical. futuregrind.libsyn.com. May 1, 2018.
  20. News: FDA Crackdown on Aaron Traywick Coming Soon?. Zayner. Josiah. February 2, 2018. Twitter. May 5, 2018. en. Aaron Traywick and Ascendance Biomedical are running Facebook ads and promoting another live gene therapy injection with claims it's a cure for herpes. Wondering how long till FDA cracks down on themーany bets?.
  21. News: Why I injected myself with an untested gene therapy. Lussenhop. Jessica. November 21, 2017. BBC News. May 3, 2018. en-GB.
  22. News: Controversial biohacker is found dead. May 2, 2018. BBC News. May 3, 2018. en-GB.
  23. Web site: FDA Statement on Cellular and Gene Therapy Products: Information About Self-Administration of Gene Therapy. FDA. Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. FDA.gov. en. May 5, 2018.
  24. Web site: CRISPR Rejuvenation. crisprrejuvenation.com. en-US. May 6, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180502193900/https://crisprrejuvenation.com/. May 2, 2018. dead.
  25. News: Before he died, this biohacker was planning a CRISPR trial in Mexico. Mullin. Emily. MIT Technology Review. May 6, 2018. en.
  26. News: Aaron Traywick: Inovium Rejuvenation. Inovium Rejuvenation. May 6, 2018. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501094053/https://inoviumrejuvenation.com/aaron-traywick. May 1, 2018. dead.
  27. News: Aaron Traywick - Inovium Rejuvenation. Inovium Rejuvenation. May 6, 2018. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501094053/https://inoviumrejuvenation.com/aaron-traywick. May 1, 2018. dead.
  28. News: A New Anti-Aging Technique Just Made It to Clinical Trials. January 15, 2017. Futurism. May 6, 2018. en-US.
  29. News: The Power of Crispr Cas9 & How to Create a Clearer Truth w/Aaron Traywick - TOT Revolution. December 12, 2017. TOT Revolution. May 6, 2018. en-US.
  30. Web site: Biohacking is Really a Response to Corporatization of Science: Trish Dolman on Showtime Documentary Citizen Bio . CBS Boston . October 29, 2020 . October 30, 2020.
  31. Web site: Latham . Jonathan R. . Netflix's Unnatural Selection ducks the big questions about gene editing . salon.com . November 10, 2019 . October 30, 2020.
  32. News: Biohacker Aaron Traywick found dead in a spa . BBC . May 2, 2018 . May 2, 2018.
  33. News: Biohacker Found Dead in Sensory Deprivation Tank at DC Spa. NBC4 Washington. May 4, 2018. en.
  34. News: Biotech engineer found dead in sensory deprivation tank in D.C.. Hermann. Peter. May 2, 2018. Washington Post. May 4, 2018. en-US. 0190-8286.
  35. News: Police Reportedly Found Drug Paraphernalia Among Aaron Traywick's Belongings. May 2, 2018. Washingtonian. May 4, 2018. en-US.
  36. News: It Wasn't Biohacking That Killed the Biohacker: He Drowned. Bloomberg.com. July 2, 2018. en.

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