Jim O'Neill on Longevity and Vaccines, Plus the Heist Myth

Inside the Mind of America's Health Deputy

The latest edition of MIT Technology Review's daily newsletter, The Download, leads with an exclusive conversation with Jim O'Neill, the US Deputy Health Secretary who has become one of the most powerful figures in American public health. O'Neill holds dual roles at the top of the country's federal health and science agencies, overseeing a department with a budget exceeding one trillion dollars. His influence spans the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration.

In the interview, O'Neill discussed his vision for increasing human healthspan through longevity-focused research. He highlighted ARPA-H, the federal agency dedicated to biomedical breakthroughs, as a key vehicle for this ambition. Under new director Alicia Jackson, who was recruited in part because of her interest in longevity, the agency is making aging research a major focus. Programs include a $170 million initiative over five years to grow new organs for transplantation.

Vaccine Guidelines Remain in Flux

O'Neill also addressed the controversial changes to the US vaccine schedule. Last month, the CDC cut the number of vaccines recommended for children, removing universal recommendations for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, and meningococcal disease. The move was widely criticized by medical groups, and the majority of states have rejected the new recommendations. O'Neill indicated that further changes to vaccine guidelines remain possible, leaving the medical community in continued uncertainty.

The newsletter contextualizes these remarks against O'Neill's broader philosophical commitments. When asked about Vitalism, a movement of longevity enthusiasts who believe that death is humanity's core problem and that defeating aging is scientifically plausible, O'Neill confirmed he agrees with all five of its core tenets.

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The Surprising Truth About Heists

The briefing's second feature dismantles the Hollywood myth of the high-tech heist. While movies celebrate elaborate technological exploits, research from Sandia National Laboratories, which compiled data on 23 high-value robberies from 1972 to 2012, found that real thieves rely overwhelmingly on low-tech methods: brute force, tunneling, and social engineering. A recent example saw the Louvre lose 88 million euros worth of antique jewelry in a heist whose most sophisticated technology was an angle grinder.

Spanish researchers studying art crimes from 1990 to 2022 confirmed that the least technical methods remain the most successful. As one expert noted, speed and practice consistently trump sophisticated alarm-defeating systems, making real heists more about logistics than gadgetry.