A two-decade scientific journey, starting with a surprising finding while caring for older dolphins, has led to a breakthrough discovery that can help improve health for all.
SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Sometimes, the most important discoveries come from the most unlikely places. In the case of the recently released Simon & Schuster book, The Longevity Nutrient (release date March 25, 2025), the groundbreaking discovery of how a surprising fat can extend longevity came while Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson was caring for older Navy dolphins.
Dr. Venn-Watson, a veterinary epidemiologist working for the U.S. Navy and a recently recognized 2025 CNBC Changemaker, was studying why some older dolphins aged healthily, while others developed aging-associated conditions shared with older humans: namely, insulin resistance, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver disease, chronic inflammation, and anemia. After reviewing a half-century of dolphin medical records, along with using an advanced technology called metabolomics to evaluate hundreds of small molecules present in archived dolphin serum samples and their diets, she made the shocking discovery that higher amounts of C15:0 (pentadecanoic acid) predicted the healthiest aging dolphins.
C15:0 (pronounced see-fifteen) is an odd-chain saturated fatty acid present in trace amounts of milkfat, as well as some types of fish. "Given that dolphins eat only fish, we thought that higher omega-3 fatty acids would predict the healthiest dolphins," said Dr. Venn-Watson, co-founder and co-CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics. "We were wrong. Instead, the dolphins taught us that C15:0, a surprising saturated fat, explained why the healthiest aging dolphins were so darn healthy."
The Longevity Nutrient, authored by Dr. Venn-Watson, shares not only this initial discovery linking higher C15:0 to healthier dolphins during 2015, but details the robust science that has emerged over the past decade demonstrating C15:0's many direct and broad health benefits. Citing over a hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers from prestigious research teams throughout the world over the past 20 years, Dr. Venn-Watson shares key findings, including:
- C15:0 is the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in over 90 years. Multiple independent teams have revalidated Dr. Venn-Watson's initial discovery that C15:0 meets the rare criteria of being an essential fatty acid. Specifically, that animals require routine amounts of C15:0 in their diets in order to maintain baseline physiological health.
- C15:0 enhances multiple longevity-enabling pathways, including strengthening cells, which is a tool that millions of years of evolution have used to help extend longevity in animals. When tested head-to-head against the leading longevity-enhancing molecules, like rapamycin and metformin, C15:0 had the most clinically relevant cellular benefits.
- C15:0 nutritional deficiencies result in Cellular Fragility Syndrome, a condition that may impact as many as 1 in 3 people globally. As our primary source of dietary source of C15:0 (i.e. whole milkfat) has declined, so have populationwide C15:0 levels. Dr. Venn-Watson describes how nutritional C15:0 deficiencies weaken cell membranes and cause ferroptosis, a newly discovered form of cell death that accelerates aging and exacerbates the onset and aggressiveness of red blood cell, liver, metabolic, heart, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Told like a scientific detective story, The Longevity Nutrient shares how longevity molecules are assessed, which molecules are the leading contenders to extend our healthspans and lifespans, and how global independent studies assessing C15:0's role in supporting our long-term health from the womb to our latest years have resulted in C15:0 as the leading longevity nutrient. This book is also filled with tips to help everyone live healthier, longer.
"Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson has made a groundbreaking, once-in-a-century discovery that changes how we can age for the better, at all stages of life," said Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Function Health. "While improving the health of older dolphins, she unexpectedly discovered the crucial ingredient we all need to slow aging and fight chronic aging-associated diseases. The Longevity Nutrient tells the rest of the story. The book entertains as it enlightens, with impressively robust science that has positively affected my own life, and I guarantee you won't look at saturated fat the same way again."
The Longevity Nutrient is available wherever books are sold.
About the author
Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH, is a veterinary epidemiologist and the world's leading expert on C15:0, the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in over 90 years. Stephanie previously served as an epidemiologist for the World Health Organization and U.S. Navy. With over 60 patents and 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications, her novel approach to discovering nutrient-based therapeutics has been featured on NPR's Science Friday, CBS, BBC, and National Geographic. Stephanie is a 2025 CNBC Changemaker and has been awarded the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Innovations in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, as well as the Boehringer Ingelheim's Innovation Award. She is currently Co-Founder and CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics, a health and wellness company that develops groundbreaking essential fatty acids to help people age healthier. Seraphina won Nutritional Outlook Magazine's Best of the Industry award, and has been recognized as a Fast Company World Changing Idea for its pure C15:0 ingredient. Dr. Venn-Watson is author of the Simon & Schuster book, The Longevity Nutrient, which follows her decade-long discoveries of C15:0 as a leading longevity compound.
Stephanie received her B.S. in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from UC San Diego, D.V.M. from Tufts University, M.P.H. from Emory University, and was a National Research Council Associate with the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center and a Technical Agent for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life.
About Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc.
Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness company dedicated to advancing global health through the discovery of essential fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics. Through rigorous breakthrough science, the company develops fatty acid supplements, food fortifiers, and nutritional interventions to strengthen cells, keep mitochondria working and advance cellular homeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team of industry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challenges long-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novel health products designed to support quality of life. For more information, please visit DiscoverC15.com and fatty15.com.
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SOURCE Seraphina Therapeutics. Inc.
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