#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 #Longevity2020dw2blog.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
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"Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19" by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley was a book that changed my mind. It marshals lots of evidence that significantly raises the probability that the global pandemic resulted from a laboratory incident (1/6) goodreads.com/book/show/5864…
The book highlights many heroic, admirable actions, of Internet sleuths and self-taught researchers around the world, who uncovered evidence which cast new light on the background to the outbreak of the pandemic (2/6)
But it also highlights many examples of actions that were much less admirable: people in both media and academia, as well as in the medical establishment, who sought to turn attention away from facts that were uncomfortable or inconvenient (3/6)
Whilst waiting for the #CogX2021 sessions to start streaming, why not quickly check out the open preview of my forthcoming new book, which places the future of AI as central to the future of humanity. "Vital Foresight" dw2blog.com/2021/05/26/a-p…
CEO of @RollsRoyce, Warren East, looks forward to the company "smashing" the air speed record for an electrically powered craft. As part of exploring possibilities for greener air travel #CogX2021
... though it looks like this record-breaking @RollsRoyce effort has been delayed from the schedule originally announced (back in December 2019). Given the uncertainties involved in such innovative engineering, that's not too unexpected #CogX2021rolls-royce.com/media/press-re…
Live now: "AI, Data & Ethics with Prof. Joanna Bryson" @j2bryson "Joanna will join us at this edition of the London Ethics Meetup to share her insights on AI, Data & Ethics in 2020" meetup.com/Tech-Ethics-Lo…
Good definitions from @j2bryson at the start of her talk on "AI, Data & Ethics"
People who say they are "against regulation" benefit from huge amounts of regulation inside their own bodies, that is biological regulation, points out @j2bryson
I'm watching the live stream from #OneSharedWorld#RiseOrFallTogether, "The OneShared World Interdependence Summit 2020". Lots of speakers, artists, and activists are lined up
"The world today faces a wake-up call. The question is: will we wake up?" Opening provocation at #OneSharedWorld by @JamieMetzl
"Because the core problem we face is systemic, our response needs to be systemic too. To safeguard our future, we need to build a new global operating system" - @JamieMetzl at #OneSharedWorld
Starting in just under 2 hours, at 12.00 UK time: the 1st of the 9 sessions of #WeNeedAChange: "Accelerating a new Kind of Thinking & Science for a Sustainable Future". I'll be offering six theses about the kind of change needed. Video will be streamed at leanbase.de/streamaroundth…
The #CogXtra panel "What's Needed Now" has just started streaming: "In considering how we rebuild, ideas once-considered radical have been up for discussion. But how radical do we need to go? Can we rebuild along the same lines as before?" cogx.co/event/what-is-…
"As the storms of the global pandemic continue to buffet businesses and individuals, we are all in need of a double dose of resilience. If only there were a precise recipe for it, we would all be racing towards a brighter future." This can be viewed on
The pandemic has exposed the extent of the digital divide. The number one infrastructure priority for the country is to fix this divide - former UK Chancellor George Osborne at #CogXtra