Thread by @dw2

#Longevity2020 has just started its live broadcast. Day One is "Defining biological aging" longevity2020.com/defining-biolo…

#Longevity2020 Now moving on to a presentation by Professor George Church from Harvard

Nine pathways for longevity or aging reversal #Longevity2020 from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23746838

For news on progress with real-world trials in each of these nine areas I recommend the Lifespan.io Rejuvenation Roadmap #Longevity2020 lifespan.io/road-maps/the-…

#Longevity2020 "Aging drives diseases" reports Nir Barzilai. We're familiar with hearing about this in the case of Covid-19, but it applies to numerous chronic diseases

Compared to the offspring from the general population, the offspring of parents with exceptional longevity have much less degradation in the proteome as they themselves age: Nir Barzilai at #Longevity2020

As we age, the typical number of disorders - loss of bodily function that increase the probability of death - keeps growing - Prof Lynne Cox from Oxford at #Longevity2020

Senescent cells cause aging, rather than simply being a marker of it - Lynne Cox at #Longevity2020

The need for "systems biology" and "drug synergy": A fuller understanding of aging leads to a change in the way that drugs are designed to simultaneously tackle multiple aspects of biological networks - conclusion from Lynne Cox at #Longevity2020

The second phase of today's #Longevity2020 session features Steve Horvath with his presentation on "Epigenetic clocks for clinical trials and preclinical research"

Next up at #Longevity2020: Ludger Jansen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Rostock & University of Passau, in conjunction with Georg Fuellen, Professor of Biomedical Informatics

Richard Siow, Director of Longevity AI Consortium, Kings College, London presents a summary of the holistic approaches taken at Kings College to aging: cell, society, and beyond #Longevity2020

My own preference, from the talks at #Longevity2020 so far, would be for LESS time on general overviews and abstract models, and MORE on:
(1) new research findings and the implications arising,
(2) recommendations for specific trials,
(3) obstacles to faster progress

Veteran cyclists, although chronologically older, resemble the healthy young, in terms of inflammatory response. It's an indication that sustained exercise might be the best anti-aging therapy (so far). Richard Siow #Longevity2020

Advice from George Bernard Shaw, echoed by Richard Siow at #Longevity2020: "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing"

Distinguishing underlying causes from mere correlations is hard, in the field of aging as much as anywhere else, points out Attila Csordas at #Longevity2020. It's a subject to be continued in later sessions of the summit

Michael Fossel argues that hallmarks, measurements, and definitions have limited value, unless we can understand which are the "upstream" factors where we can usefully intervene to change the process of aging #Longevity2020

Brian Kennedy from NUS, Singapore has a list of interventions that boost healthspan (years without frailty) in a number of model organisms, with further tests in humans pending #Longevity2020

The benefits of slowing aging: not just reducing the impact of chronic diseases and functional decline, but also reducing the impact of acute diseases such as Covid-19: That's a message the community needs to run with, urges Brian Kennedy #Longevity2020

Brian Kennedy has been reading "How to Change your Mind" by Michael Pollan, and draws an interesting analogy from it for how we think about anti-aging therapies. It's a book I've greatly enjoyed too: here's my review #Longevity2020 dw2blog.com/2018/07/17/wou…

The last #Longevity2020 speaker of the day, Aubrey de Grey of SENS ("professional trouble-maker"), argues that there's huge practical utility of getting the right definition of aging

My takeaways from the Ask-Me-Anything at the end of today's #Longevity2020:
(1) "The philosophers have only interpreted aging, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it"
(2) "What I cannot change, I do not understand"
(with apologies to both Marx and Feynman)

"We're now seeing the future crashing into the present" - Jamie Metzl, connecting from New York, highlights the unprecedented circumstances of the present time, at the start of the second day of #Longevity2020

In recent years, the expected remaining life expectancy for someone aged 65 has increased, but the expected remaining healthy life expectancy has gone down - Ilaria Bellantuono from Healthy Lifespan Institute, University of Sheffield, at #Longevity2020

Reason, of Fight Aging, expresses some dissident views at #Longevity2020. Apart from the senolytics strand, which is genuinely impressive, much of the work in the field is likely to have little rejuvenative effects

After offering criticisms, here are some "hinterland" fields which deserve more attention, suggests Reason at #Longevity2020

Other promising signs, of areas within rejuvenation biotech which have the potential for significant breakthroughs, according to Reason #Longevity2020

The speakers so far from day two of #Longevity2020 share a discussion of which rejuvenation therapies they have seen which raise the greatest excitement. Mentions for epigenetic reprogramming, senolytics, and exercise

Lifespan or healthspan? Nir Barzilai offers a punchy assessment: "The intended output of these treatments will be increased expected healthspan. There is a side-effect: increased expected lifespan. Whether you are ready for that side-effect is up to you" #Longevity2020

iTR, the induction of tissue regeneration (sometimes called epigenetic reprogramming), has a great deal of potential, both for rejuvenation, and for treating cancer: Mike West of AgeX at #Longevity2020