November
2013
LongeCity 2013 science fundraiser --
success!!
We are incredibly pleased, excited and proud that the 2013
science fundraiser in support of the 'MitoSENS' team in pursuit of
an innovative gene therapy methods to cure mitochondrial aging has come
to a successful close weeks before its scheduled deadline!
Looking back at the journey and
the donor list, there are some interesting observations: Brilliantly
launched with a generous donation by Reason, the supporters came in,
with small donations and large ones - over 70 of us pooled resources and
made it happen! We have see many anonymous donations- many donors don't
seem to care about publicity. It's great to see on average larger
donations than we have had in the past. Perhaps this was the 'right
project', perhaps some LongeCity members who joined us as students now
have more disposable income to channel to the best causes or perhaps the
community appreciate the ever fiercer urgency to 'stop talking and get
moving'. But amongst a few $1000 donations we still see many $10 ones -
and these are also highly valued an meaningful - they show that even
those who have to be very thrifty in these tough economic times are
engaged and want to make a difference. Lastly, the largest donation that
brought the fundraiser to an eagerly anticipated end is also
interesting: it came from the Methuselah Foundation - itself a
non-profit organisation that does incredibly important work in
supporting life extension research. In fact, Methuselah Foundation and
SENS foundation that supports MitoSENS where once much closer aligned.
Given this background, it is so wonderful to see that the members of the
Methuselah Foundation are firmly resisting the in-fighting and rivalry
that has so often plagued the life extension movement in the past
-instead they saw a good project and a great opportunity to make an
effective impact and they acted!
Thanks to them, thanks to you, the wonderful members and friends who
supported and promoted the initiative we have reached this goal
together!
What's next?
Well, Dr. 'Oki' O'Connor and his team are eager to start! You
can listen to Oki discuss the research plans in our recent
LongeCity Podcast. The team will provide updates on the
research to the community throughout the project.
This research will present a small but distinct and potentially very
important step in the research aimed at tackling age-related
mitochondrial dysfunction. It may also demonstrate that this route, on
balance, is not the most promising. LongeCity members are mature enough
to appreciate that good science, done properly, never 'disappoints' -
you may not always get the results that you were hoping for but at least
you have learned something, at least you have tried. And it is in the
trying, in the fierce determination to keep trying, with drive, and
ambition but without hype or grandiose claims that uniquely unites the
LongeCity community. And this brings me to another point :
LongeCity has been doing 'crowdfunding' since before 'kickstarter'
and other platforms where even conceived. Meanwhile other life extension
projects have used that route and with great success. This is a great
development! In comparison, we still think that LongeCity brings
something extra to the table that advocates of 'effective altruism' will
appreciate:
Firstly, we are very careful about the projects we promote. They are
reviewed internally, by the community and scientifically. As we also had
to find out, this cannot be an absolute safeguard, but it provides a
greater measure of quality assurance to the community.
And this, our community, is the second important feature: In contrast to
'pure' fundraising sites, the fact that the project is linked to the
community on an on-going basis and in a hands-on manner means more
interactivity, communication, cross-fertilization of ideas and better
scrutiny. If they were not before, the research team are now a part of
that community and over time this will strength the network of
protagonists in life extension research immeasurably.
Nonetheless the rising popularity of crowdsourced research financing
should give us pause for though: Could we now move on to a different,
neglected aspect of life extension research support that requires
attention, and where LongeCity's -- in comparison-- very limited
community funds could make an even greater impact?
Thus, "Research
Fundraisers - what's next for 2014?" is also a question we are
asking ourselves - all Members are invited to share their views in the
internal forum!
MONTHLY FORUM FEATURE:
Slightly unhappy topic this month: A reminder of reasons
to get banned
MONTHLY COLUMN:
Franco Cortese tackles "Three Specters of Immortality":
overpopulation, unnaturalness and selfishness.
Caliban
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LONGECITY
-Advocacy and Research for Unlimited Lifespans