Update 3/21/2024: This post on the best anti-aging research journals has been updated since we originally published it in November 2020. Several new longevity science journals have been added and links and numbers have all been updated as well.

One of the most-frequent questions prominent longevity experts get asked is, “How can I contribute?”

Dr. Aubrey de Grey typically responds that, “The main way to get involved other than donating, unless you’re a biologist and can help with the actual research, is in raising awareness.”

And longevity investor Laura Deming even has a whole page on her website devoted to the question.

Luckily, if you want to do more than just donate and raise awareness, these days you can.

There’s more than enough anti-aging research resources for you to educate yourself in the field and begin contributing in a meaningful way to human life extension without having to devote years to formal schooling.

That’s what James Clement did, and he ran the Supercentenarian Research Study with famous human genome researcher George Church. He now runs his own research lab in Florida and collaborates on life extension experiments with scientists from labs at Harvard, UCLA, and Yale.

In other words, if you’re interested in life extension science, but you’re not a doctor or accredited scientist, don’t despair!

In fact, as detailed in the forward to Clement’s top anti-aging book, The Switch, his mentor George Church even dissuaded him from pursuing a Ph.D. because the work he’s already doing is the kind of thing graduate students would kill to do, and that, “a degree doesn’t make a scientist—publishing peer-reviewed, scientific papers makes someone a scientist.”

Clement read over 18,000 scientific papers across nine years as part of educating himself enough about life-extension research to contribute to it.

Of course, if you’re just interested in learning about the science of aging, or want to be able to understand the research behind some of the popular anti-aging treatments on the market, then you don’t have to read that much.

But you’ll still need access to the same longevity science journals and life extension research resources.

And where do you even start? There are thousands of scientific journals around the world, and millions of papers and studies that could have some relation to aging.

Luckily for you, I’ve taken the time to narrow down that broad array of options to only the best age-related medical journals and data-backed longevity resources.

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Best anti-aging research journals

These longevity science journals have been selected by the following criteria:

• Actively publishing (at least one article or issue within the last year).
• A topical focus on research around or leading to actionable anti-aging therapies or interventions, not just “aging gracefully” (i.e. must have an emphasis on gerontology over geriatrics, and on therapeutics over the social, behavioral, and population health aspects of aging).
• Requires peer review for publication.
• An Impact Factor (a score of how often research from the journal is cited in other papers, the higher the better) of at least 3.0.

The below journals are organized alphabetically.

1. Aging

• Year founded: 2009
• Publication frequency: Twice monthly
• Impact factor: 5.9

With editors including Mikhail Blagosklonny of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the late Judith Campisi of The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and co-founded by David Sinclair of the Sinclair Lab at Harvard (and author of popular longevity book Lifespan), you can tell Aging is a powerhouse journal for life extension research.

Aging has published papers from several Nobel Prize winners including Elizabeth Blackburn (who discovered telomerase), and Shinya Yamanaka (who discovered the factors to induce pluripotency in adult stem cells).

Other published studies include research looking at how resveratrol may enhance the cancer-fighting abilities of immune system T-cells, how anti-aging drugs can help fight COVID-19, and how machine learning tools are helping us understand deep biomarkers of aging and longevity.

2. Aging Cell

• Year founded: 2002
• Publication frequency: Every two months
• Impact factor: 7.6

This open-access journal, published by the Anatomical Society, has covered several important anti-aging research studies including David Sinclair’s research in longevity genes in mice and early research into compounds to extend yeast lifespan, as well as general reviews of interventions to slow aging.

Other notable longevity research papers published in Aging Cell include how stress granules seem to mediate the longevity effects of calorie restriction on C-elegans worms, how exercise training seems to reverse cardiac aging in mice, and how inhibition of a specific polymerase can promote autophagy and increase the degradation of α‐synuclein (a protein believed to contribute to the brain “plaque” that causes Parkinson’s).

3. Ageing Research Reviews

• Year founded: 2002
• Publication frequency: Eight issues per year
• Impact factor: 11.7

A hybrid journal that is not wholly open access but supports it by providing access to select studies, Ageing Research Reviews prints review papers across the entire spectrum of aging research and also covers “[a]pplications of basic ageing research to lifespan extension and disease prevention.”

Some interesting published papers on human life extension research include using telomeric RNA as a possible biomarker for measuring aging, the impact of intermittent fasting on health and longevity, and a general review of what the future holds for lifespan interventions.

4. Biogerontology

• Year founded: 2000
• Publication frequency: Six issues per year
• Impact factor: 4.5

Biogerontology is an aging research journal with a focus on “modulating the ageing process by physical, chemical and biological means.”

It’s not open access but does publish as a hybrid model with open access options.

Some examples of reversing aging research the journal has published include papers on how NADH increases lifespan in fruit fly models, how NAD and autophagy impact cellular health and aging, and how EGCG (found in green tea) can possibly reverse some aspects of “inflammaging” in mice.

5. Experimental Gerontology

• Year founded: 1964
• Publication frequency: Monthly, with special issues in July and October
• Impact factor: 3.9

Experimental Gerontology explicitly welcomes papers “orientated toward the modulation of the aging process” and, as of 2023, is now fully open access. It’s published plenty of life extension research, including an early longevity study by David Sinclair.

Some other longevity-related studies they’ve published include an investigation into the link between telomerase and ovarian aging in mice and a review covering cellular reprogramming and senescence with respect to aging and regeneration.

6. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

• Year founded: 2007
• Publication frequency: Continuously online as articles are reviewed (almost daily in 2020)
• Impact factor: 4.8

Fully open access and focused explicitly on how aging impacts the brain, this journal is interested in “insight to the aging process and neurological diseases associated with senescence, and developing treatment strategies aimed at the conservation of neuronal function.”

Interesting anti-aging research from Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience includes a review on how plant-derived antioxidants may help protect the brain from aging, and how physical activity can prevent and delay brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

7. Gerontology

• Year founded: 1957
• Publication frequency: Six issues per year
• Impact factor: 3.5

The self proclaimed “oldest journal in the field,” Gerontology is devoted to uncovering “the mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases.” As if that wasn’t enough to interest spanners, the journal also has a whole section devoted specifically to “regeneration” and defines its mission as “extending active life and enhancing its quality.”

Though not open access, the journal does have a good deal of free life extension research online. Some relevant publications include an in-depth review on Metformin and aging, and a discussion on using blood-based approaches to combat and reverse aging.

8. GeroScience

• Year founded: 1978
• Publication frequency: Six issues per year
• Impact factor: 5.6

The official journal of the American Aging Association, GeroScience is focused on not only understanding the mechanisms of aging, but also on “biomedical applications that impact aging.”

The journal is not open access, but a hybrid model with open access options available.

Life extension-related research they’ve published include a study looking at how caloric restriction affects longevity in genetically altered mice, and the importance of cellular senescence in promoting longevity.

9. Immunity and Aging

• Year founded: 2004
• Publication frequency: Continuously online as articles are reviewed (about three times per week in 2024)
• Impact factor: 7.6

An open access journal, Immunity and Aging focuses, predictably, on how aging impacts the immune system and, of interest to longevity advocates, on “the potential for interventions to increase lifespan.”

Articles like this review on the importance of immune cells to removing damaging and pro-aging senescent cells will be of particular interest for budding longevity researchers.

10. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences

• Year founded: 1946
• Publication frequency: Monthly
• Impact factor: 5.1

Another claimant for the oldest “journals on aging,” this publication of the Gerontological Society of America is not open access, though it does have quite a lot of free content, including entire free issues.

There is also a “Series B” of this journal that focuses on the psychology of aging, but it does not cover therapies or interventions to slow or stop aging and so I’ve not included it on this list.

The research published by The Journals of Gerontology: Series A is, however, of great interest to anti-aging advocates, and includes studies like a comparison of the life extension effects of rapamycin and resveratrol in mice, and even an entire special issue devoted to caloric restriction and restrictive diets and how they impact aging.

11. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development

• Year founded: 1972
• Publication frequency: Eight issues per year
• Impact factor: 5.3

Similar to other journals on this list, including the below-mentioned Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, this journal emphases research on the cellular and metabolic mechanisms and pathways of aging. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development also encourages investigations into “innovative anti-aging approaches” for researchers submitting papers.

While not fully open access, the journal supports open access as a hybrid model and includes several open access articles in most issues. A few research papers relevant to life extension science includes how specific signalers in the Hippo pathway could be crucial to tissue regeneration and regenerative medicine, and an examination of how a telomere “clock” may impact cellular senescence.

12. Nature Aging

• Year founded: 2021
• Publication frequency: Twelve issues per year
• Impact factor: 8.48

While relatively new to the longevity research journal scene, this publication, under the auspices of the venerable Nature brand, is already a longevity science powerhouse. Publishing 12 issues in their first year alone, they’ve hosted important anti-aging studies including a study on biological aging rates among adults, and a review of the medicine rapamycin as used to delay aging.

Nature Aging is committed to eventually being a completely open access journal, and currently a large proportion of their articles are free and open to the public, including many studies and trials. Authors currently may choose to submit their research under an open access, or traditional scientific publishing model.

13. Neurobiology of Aging

• Year founded: 1980
• Publication frequency: Monthly
• Impact factor: 4.2

Not open access but published on a hybrid model that “supports open access,” and with an open access companion journal called Aging Brain, Neurobiology of Aging, like the above-mentioned Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, has a special focus on how aging impacts the brain.

Some articles of note include a study on how suspected anti-aging molecule resveratrol can help to break up amyloid-β peptides (thought to cause Alzheimer’s), and the potential for using autophagy to arrest age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

14. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

• Year founded: 2008
• Publication frequency: Continuously online as articles are reviewed (about 2x monthly in 2024)
• Impact factor: 6.7

This open access journal focuses on oxidative processes within the body and their impact on aging and on chronic diseases and disorders. 

Relevant anti-aging research includes the role of oxidative stress in skin aging, and how curcumin (from turmeric) has anti-cancer and DNA demethylation effects.

15. Rejuvenation Research

• Year founded: 1998
• Publication frequency: Six issues per year
• Impact factor: 3.1

Founded by well-known life extension advocate and SENS founder Aubrey de Grey, and originally titled the Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine, Rejuvenation Research is everything you would expect with that pedigree.

Unfortunately not open access, most issues nonetheless have several free articles included.

Some published research includes the role of telomerase in protection from neurodegenerative diseases, and using stem cell transplantation to slow or reverse aging.

Honorable mentions

There were several journals I found that may still be of interest, but that didn’t quite have high enough impact factors (or in a couple cases, an impact factor I couldn’t find) to be included in the main list, or that have some focus on anti-aging, but mostly focus on “aging gracefully.” I’ve added them below alphabetically if you wanted to check them out.

• Current Aging Science
  • Impact factor: 2.0
• Interventions in Aging
  • Impact factor: Unknown
• Journal of Aging and Longevity
  • Impact factor: Unknown
• Journal of Aging Science
  • Impact factor: 1.04
• The Lancet Healthy Longevity (mostly focused on aging gracefully)
  • Impact factor: 13.1
• Nutrition and Healthy Aging
  • Impact factor: 0.88
• Translational Medicine of Aging
  • Impact factor: 2.38

How to find anti-aging research

Looking for more longevity research? Here’s a quick guide for finding good life extension science in general, especially because, (shocking, I know) not all the good current research on aging will be published in longevity-specific journals.

Many important anti-aging studies are published in scientific journals with a broader focus, like Nature or Cell, so a good understanding of how to search across all the relevant research papers and studies out there will stand you in good stead.

There are lots of great research depositories and search tools out there, like PLOS, Paperity, BioMed Central, and AI-powered research tools like Semantic Scholar, but you only need to master a few of these to really get a handle on the vast majority of quality longevity studies. 

The important resources are:

• PubMed’s MEDLINE database: PubMed is a government resource maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) that organizes and cites almost every single peer-reviewed medical paper ever published. It includes more than 30 million articles currently, and a large portion of them are able to be read in-full, directly on the PubMed website.

• Google Scholar: Anyone who’s written a high school research paper will likely be familiar with this tool, but it’s a great way to use advanced search functionality not available on PubMed to find papers you’re interested in.

• bioRxiv and medRxiv pre-print papers: Both of these nonprofit databases host scientific papers and medical studies that are “pre-print,” meaning they have not yet been peer-reviewed, but are usually in the process of being submitted to various scientific and medical journals for peer review and eventual publication. Because these studies are presented “raw,” as it were, you need to be extra cautious before taking any action based on their results (not yet peer-reviewed, remember) but both bioRxiv and medRxiv can be great tools for finding the very latest anti-aging research news before it’s even officially published.

These three tools should give you access to almost every single longevity-related paper ever written.

But now, of course, you need to know how to actually understand and interpret those studies.

And while I could write an in-depth, 5-part series breaking down in a conversational and approachable manner exactly how to understand and dissect scientific research studies, luckily for me (and you), longevity influencer Dr. Peter Attia has already done that.

• Studying Studies: Part I – relative risk vs. absolute risk
• Studying Studies: Part II – observational epidemiology
• Studying Studies: Part III – the motivation for observational studies
• Studying Studies: Part IV – randomization and confounding
• Studying Studies: Part V – power and significance

Other top longevity research resources

While not medical journals, the below are other great sources of life extension data, summaries or meta-analyses of life extension research, or great overviews and visualizations of current anti-aging scientific progress.

• Forever Healthy Knowledge Base and Rejuvenation Now initiative
• Lifespan.io Rejuvenation Roadmap
• Human Ageing Genomic Resources databases

Any great life-extension research resources I missed?

I’m sure I missed some great ones, so what else do you regularly check when looking for scientific research on longevity topics (or when trying to read 18,001 anti-aging research papers to beat James Clement’s record of 18,000)?

Add ’em in the comments!