Report: Putin backs $26 billion biotech project on aging, longevity

A report in the U.S. press says Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a secret biotechnology project aimed at fighting aging and extending human life. The $26 billion program, called “Modern Health Technologies,” includes work on organ cloning and gene editing. The report said the effort is being run by people close to Putin, with his eldest daughter Maria Vorontsova and Kurchatov Institute chief Mihail Kovalçuk overseeing the process. It said the project has three main components: 3D bioprinting, cross-species organ transplantation and advanced gene therapy. The article said the initiative is intended to strengthen state control over the rebuilding of the human body. It added that international scientific circles are treating the project with caution.