Fight Aging!

This year's Buck Symposium, an event hosted by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, will be held on March 1st. The Institute is very much a part of the mainstream of biogerontology, wherein frank talk of extending human life span is rare, and the public relations tends to focus on age-related diseases and length of healthy life within the current human life span:

At the Buck Institute, world-class scientists work in a uniquely collaborative environment to understand how normal aging contributes to the development of conditions specifically associated with getting older such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, macular degeneration and glaucoma. Our interdisciplinary approach brings scientists from disparate fields together to develop diagnostic tests and treatments to prevent or delay these maladies.

Some of their work has application to more useful research programs, however, those that aim directly to extend human life and reverse aging - such as SENS. That said, the program for the event is attractive, and in the speakers list you'll see a few noted researchers who are in fact public supporters of SENS, such as Irina Conboy.

The 2012 Buck Symposium: Stem Cell Research and Aging provides a stage for key players in the rapidly developing areas of stem cell research and the basic biology of aging to share their research, findings and thoughts. Some of the world's most influential and respected investigators from diverse background, in fields such as development, diseases, stem cell biology and model systems will be sharing their ideas, sparking new dialog, new alliances and promising collaborations.