The Academy Says…
Advancing Geroscience: A Scientific and Economic Imperative
The Academy for Health and Lifespan Research, composed of the world’s leading scientists in aging biology, is committed to advancing the promise of geroscience. The biology of aging is modifiable; aging can be altered, slowed, and delayed. To extend healthspan and improve quality of life for future generations, research must be prioritized, and funds must be invested in this critical area.
In the U.S., we have recently witnessed a troubling decline in the recognition of the value of basic science and biomedical research, at a time when its promise has never been better. Now more than ever, policymakers and elected officials should act to reverse this trend and provide the sustained support needed to drive scientific progress.
Our advancements have been made possible by decades of government funded research across all areas of science, including chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, and mathematics. Continued decreases in funding will derail future breakthroughs and threaten the U.S.’s role as a global leader in medical innovation. Enhancing healthspan is not only a scientific imperative, it’s an economic one. By reducing the burden of chronic illness, geromedicine, based on geroscience, holds the potential to save billions in healthcare costs while enabling longer, healthier, and more productive lives.
The article “Implausibility of radical life extension in humans in the twenty-first century” https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-024-00702-3 offers a compelling argument for the growing importance of Geroscience in advancing both healthspan and lifespan. If we are to extend life expectancy, the focus must shift from treating disease after it emerges to preventing it altogether. Slowing the aging process, through both lifestyle and environmental changes and breakthroughs in Gerotherapeutics, represents the ultimate form of preventative medicine. Geroscience-based strategies have the potential to delay disease onset, even in those with chronic conditions, underscoring the urgent need for more research into aging biology.
Time Restricted Eating
Recent news reports that time-restricted eating (TRE) is linked to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular death comes from an unpublished, uncontrolled, non-peer-reviewed study. People should know that over 100 published peer-reviewed clinical trials have reported that TRE has small to large metabolic health benefits and none of the studies saw serious adverse health outcomes.