The top two richest men in the world, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, are both funding next-level healthcare initiatives: Musk with Neuralink and its cutting-edge brain research and Bezos with Altos Labs, which is working to slow the progression of age-related diseases. In this episode of "The Health & Fitness Show" on Motley Fool Live, recorded on March 25, Motley Fool analysts Sanmeet Deo and Meilin Quinn and Fool.com contributors Rachel Warren and Brian Orelli talk about what this means for the rest of us.

Sanmeet Deo: I guess healthcare, biotech, pharma medicine. But this seems like even more of a stretch because you're literally playing God or whatever you believe in. [laughs]

Meilin Quinn: It's almost transhumanism, like what Elon Musk is exploring with Neuralink, trying to extend the capabilities of a human brain. I imagine this will be something if we do get somewhere impressive with this technology, probably something that rich people will only be able to afford at the outset. The hope is that after five years, after 10 years, hopefully, can be something that the broader public can take advantage of to improve their lives.

Deo: Yeah. Then the other thing was, I think in the article, and I can't find it, but it's something about when you're playing with the cells and going to do stuff with cells, because it's so new, you could accidentally cause cancer in somebody. You could mess everything up. Obviously, it's not being tested in humans. Before they even get to that point, I'm sure they would really test that out. But it's exciting and scary at the same time. It's kind of like the metaverse, exciting and scary at the same time.

Quinn: Yeah, definitely. I guess that's why there's so much money going into this. [laughs]

Rachel Warren: Yeah. I feel like I would be very interested to see some real-world data, which I know again it's very early stages. Because, like Sanmeet was saying, it's kind of like this sense of playing God. I think there's a lot of potential there, but at the same time, there needs to be recognition that there is a imitation to the human body and to science. It is interesting to see like how far can this go? I mean, I'm not surprised that guys like Elon Musk and Bezos are funding a lot of research like this. I mean, these guys, I feel like they're the kind that would want to go into cryogenic freeze. [laughs] But I also think what's interesting is what about just for normal, everyday people? Is this something that could ever potentially be accessible? Could this actually change lives on a much broader scale rather than just like a handful of elites? That's to me what I find really interesting.

Brian Orelli: I think they're probably mostly going to at least initially be focused on aging-related diseases, and that will obviously be able to affect everybody. My grandfather is about to turn 100 next month, and he's got age-related macular degeneration. He can't see very well and he wears two hearing aids and you've still got to yell to him. [laughs] He uses a walker to get around. There's a lot of things that would make his life easier if there were treatments for those diseases, even though he's mentally sharp.

Deo: It's interesting that there's I think Altos is still private. You mentioned a whole bunch of companies that are public.

Quinn: Public that's starting at the disease level. Like Brian mentioned, I think that'll really help scientists understand how this technology works and figure out how to go beyond tackling diseases.

Orelli: It also gives them a market, because the insurers will pay for treatments for diseases. But they're probably not going to pay for treatments to extend your life without any other benefit other than extending your life. I think that going after diseases is key to being able to be profitable, too.