10 replies to this topic

[Link]

SENS is running a crowdfunding project over at lifespan.io aimed at researching mitochondrial repair. They need $30,000 to get it going, it would be great if longecity could help make this happen!

https://www.lifespan...repair-project/

[Mind]

Someone at SENS should send a fund-raising proposal to info@LongeCity.org. There is a star rating system we have for supporting research: http://www.longecity...ure/fundraisers

[corb]

Someone at SENS should send a fund-raising proposal to info@LongeCity.org. There is a star rating system we have for supporting research: http://www.longecity...ure/fundraisers

 

Didn't reason make a post about it in bioscience news? I was pretty sure you knew.

[corb]

I was vague, I have that problem sometimes.

What I wanted to ask was - why doesn't longecity propose to SENSF to do a fundraiser for them or to at the least give a bit more press about http://www.lifespan.io/? Maybe a permanent banner or somesuch?

You knew the fundraiser exists so I'm a bit surprised you didn't sell it more.

Edited by corb, 25 August 2015 - 06:42 PM.

[niner]

This is the first I've heard about www.lifespan.io .  It's like kickstarter, but strictly for life extension-related projects.  Oki's MitoSENS project is the first one, but they say that David Sinclair will have a project on there soon.   Corb is right, this is very well aligned with our goals-- We should promote it and work with them in whatever way we can.   A "kickstarter for life extension" isn't going to get the kind of traffic that Kickstarter or IndieGoGo would get, so it would be good if we could help to point people there, and also to engage financially in selected campaigns as we see fit.

[caliban]

We do not 'officially' promote fundraisers that have not been certified. 

 

Its not entirely a question of ships passing at night: One of LongeCity's leadership is the treasurer of Lifespan.io.

Oki knows about LC, given that we have ran a successful fundraising campaign for his research in 2013. (although the 'rewards that SENS is offering are more generous this time round )  

 

As for LongeCity, we decided to always run fundraisers on 'external' platforms wherever possible for maximum impact and visibility.

We were thinking more about kickstarter, indiegogo, etc.  but might become another venue, and I have send them an email about collaborating further. 

[reason]

Philanthropy has an important role in funding medical research, and thus crowdfunding will have an equally important role in the years ahead: it is collaborative philanthropy, the diverse will of the public, organized and made real. The falling cost of early stage biotechnology research means that the suite of prototype technologies needed to arrest degenerative aging in mammals, preventing all age-related disease through periodic repair of the cell and tissue damage that causes aging, might be as little as a billion dollars and ten years of work away from where we stand today. If we all get our act together.

Many hands make light work, and getting our act together is the point of Lifespan.io. This new non-profit crowdfunding initiative officially launched last week, showcasing a SENS mitochondrial research project that is a third of the way towards being funded as of today. Lifespan.io is an outgrowth of the Life Extension Advocacy Foundation (LEAF), and the staff and volunteers seek to attract funding for the most important of early staging longevity research, speeding the advent of prototype rejuvenation therapies. This is certainly the time for it: today is still early in a great transformation in aging research, leaving behind the look but don't touch approaches and the palliative treatment of late stage symptoms without any hope of lasting cures. The near future is brightened by the promise of direct intervention in the underlying causes of aging and age-related disease, and thus the prospect of being able to cure not just age-related disease but the very process of aging itself.

The LEAF and Lifespan.io president, Keith Comito, was kind enough to send me his thoughts on where this initiative comes from and where it is going. We're all of us on our own journeys through this space of development and potential in medicine; more traveling companions are always welcome:

My team and I created Lifespan.io because we strongly believe that centralizing crowdfunding efforts in this field will help to create a powerful grassroots movement for the extension of healthy human lifespan. It can do this by not only building a focused community of passionate serial donors who can fund research directly, but also by providing an accessible gateway for the public at large to be introduced to the idea of life extension.

Lifespan.io can also be a powerful tool in positively shaping the dialogue surrounding life extending technologies going forward. The argument against life extension used to be that it was impossible and a waste of time, but now the critique is changing to one that takes on shades of income inequality: this technology might be possible, but it will be available only for the rich. Lifespan.io can serve as a counter-force to this; giving the everyday person agency in the progression of this technology - democratizing relevant research and making the results open to the public.

In the near future we also plan to support Lifespan.io with various forms of content, such as thought-provoking videos focused on engaging the broader public. Through this we can help reframe certain aspects of the ongoing conversation about transhumanist ideals such as life extension, which at times can be divisive, to a more positive one by genuinely inviting dialogue on the science and the societal issues relating to life extension, as well as providing a path for those who wish to become informed and involved. Personally I believe that many people can be reached on the issue if we speak with compassion and intelligence. Extending healthy life is not just for scientists or transhumanists - it is human; it is what we have always done since the very first poultices and medicines.

Realizing our work sits within a continuum of human development and thought both connects us to the past and empowers the drive to keep reaching for an even greater future. Ever since The Epic of Gilgamesh humanity has dreamed of this goal - it is exciting that right now we are in this unique moment of history where literally anyone can carry the torch forward, and help find the flower of rejuvenation Gilgamesh sought. You get the chance to be part of the first Hero's Journey, and that's pretty awesome. Call me optimistic, but I think we can inspire others to feel that excitement too.

Personally, I've always been interested in self-enhancement, and slowly that led me to seek out information on the concept of life extension. This eventually led me to Aubrey de Grey's book Ending Aging which made me aware that meaningful progress in this area was feasible in our lifetime. I reached out to him and we bounced some emails back and forth about creating a New York based organization to further this research. This started out as a discussion group that met once a month for about a year, the remnants of which coalesced into LEAF.

I believe a little reframing could go a long way towards reaching the everyman, instead of alienating him. As one example, I think "Do you want to live forever?" is the wrong question to ask, because of how cognitive biases affect the way we think of aging. Better to ask "Do you want to be alive tomorrow? And, do you expect the answer to that question to change tomorrow?" It is in essence the same question, but phrased in a way that mitigates the inherent cognitive bias. I think that if we can illustrate how combating aging is really about affording greater choice to everyone, we can reach more people than we think. Even if an individual doesn't want to live longer or be free from terrible age-related diseases, the odds are that someone they know, someone they love, would like the freedom to have that choice - I believe most people could be convinced that giving their loved ones that choice is a good thing.

View the full article at FightAging

[Oki]

I'm proud to be a part of the launch of lifespan.io for all of the excellent logic that Reason outlines above, but I also want to highlight the important role that LongeCity played in leading us to where we are today. It was during the funding period of the fundraiser that LongeCity hosted 2 years ago that we made the fundamental breakthrough which has lead to an amazing amount of progress on the SRF mito project. We are now in the happy position of asking for the public's support in helping us making a final push to truly prove that our mitochondrial targeting technology is working once and for all. 

[sthira]

This is fantastic! I'm definitely contributing. I like that you're asking for funding from humble donors giving even small amounts like $10. I like that it speaks to all of us -- not just the entitled wealthy class. I like that it's a clearly defined project, you've explained it well, and you're making it easy for us to contribute. Thank you! I've passed it along to friends who also may be interested in helping to fund this project.

Edited by sthira, 07 September 2015 - 01:55 AM.

[NeverToAge]

I think of my body as a solar cell that regenerates from the energy from the sun., the sun the morning breezes of wind, the sun and the pollens from any blooming eatable plant.,

Have been studying about the sun and the energy onto our planet and the energy upon me.

[alc]

I'm proud to be a part of the launch of lifespan.io for all of the excellent logic that Reason outlines above, but I also want to highlight the important role that LongeCity played in leading us to where we are today. It was during the funding period of the fundraiser that LongeCity hosted 2 years ago that we made the fundamental breakthrough which has lead to an amazing amount of progress on the SRF mito project. We are now in the happy position of asking for the public's support in helping us making a final push to truly prove that our mitochondrial targeting technology is working once and for all. 

 

Great that we see things moving forward real-world!

 

Is this going to be human-tested/in-vivo? As that is what we want to see.

 

Thanks - and I'll be donating.