On October 17 and 18, Alicante became the global epicenter of the science of longevity and healthy aging. During two days, nearly 1,000 people attended the lectures and round tables that made up a program with top international scientists, experts and technologists.
The event, which was held for the first time in Alicante, marks the beginning of a project that aims to turn Alicante into a hub for the longevity industry. In this regard, Francisco Larrey, director of the Longevity World Forum, thanked “the firm commitment of the Alicante City Council and the Tourist Board to host two more editions of the Longevity World Forum, positioning the territory as an international benchmark where knowledge and new applications on longevity and healthy aging will be consolidated over time, generating this strategic cluster”.
On the other hand, Larrey has taken the opportunity to highlight the “pride of being able to have in Spain a congress marked by the high level of the speakers. Experts who have approached longevity from different perspectives with rigor and depth, obtaining very important conclusions that will mark the future”.
Technological advances and innovation were the protagonists of the second day of the event
The second day of the Longevity World Forum Alicante focused on the most innovative technological advances and developments in the field of longevity and healthy aging.
International experts, scientists, technologists and industry leaders presented the latest research and practical applications that promote the extension of a healthy life, beyond mere life expectancy.
The program started with the conference “The state of gene therapy to treat aging”, given by Liz Parrish (Bioviva Science), where she explained how gene therapy can revolutionize the fight against aging, offering new hopes to increase human longevity. The woman known as “patient zero” or “the woman who is turning back the years” made special emphasis on the fact that “if we want to radically change things, we have to change the genes”. She also stressed the need to “reverse all the mechanisms of aging in order to really be able to reverse aging. Because if we think that we are going to have a single gene therapy and we are going to live forever, that is not going to happen.
This was followed by two keynote talks on technologies and developments in longevity. Enrique Samper (Life Length) spoke about the crucial role of telomeres and telomerase in “Beyond life expectancy: the fundamental role of telomeres and telomerase in health”, explaining their importance in the prevention of cellular aging. Angel Alberich (QUIBIM, a leading company in biomarker imaging research in life sciences, pioneer in the development of advanced algorithms that transform imaging data into practical predictions in oncology, immunology and neurology) explained how advanced medical imaging can offer a deep insight into our inner health with the talk “Inside out: imaging our inner health”.
The day continued in the afternoon session with presentations on innovative devices and applications in the field of aging and longevity. Filipe Barata (ETH Zurich) revealed how the natural rhythms of life can reveal secrets about aging, followed by David Garrido Jaén (Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia) who presented technological innovations for healthy longevity. For his part, Miguel Ángel Cobos Gil (Hospital Clínico San Carlos) explained how monitoring health through portable devices -such as smart watches- can offer valuable clues about aging in his talk “The secret of longevity is on your wrist”.
The day concluded with a round table moderated by Manuel Pérez Alonso (Universitat de València), where the opportunities and challenges in the development of startups focused on health and aging were discussed. Experts such as Enrique Samper, Ángel Alberich, David Garrido Jaén and Antonio Urbano (Nuuma Genetics) shared their perspectives on the future of the sector. This second day of the Longevity World Forum Alicante has made it clear that technological advances are key to face the challenges of aging, opening new ways towards a longer and healthier life.
Longevity World Forum Alicante thus consolidates itself as a benchmark in the field of longevity, offering a unique platform for the exchange of ideas and the creation of synergies between different actors in the sector. It becomes, therefore, a unique opportunity to be part of this event that promises to revolutionize knowledge and practices in the field of longevity.
