Keith Comito on the benefits of blockchain technology and decentralization in longevity research

Lifespan.io President and co-founder Keith Comito was concerned with longevity before longevity was cool.

“We started our nonprofit back in 2014,” Comito said. “Back then, there were few credible scientists who would be caught dead saying they were working on aging. It was still kind of a scientific backwater. So we wanted to emulate what the cancer research advocates were doing, from the 40s.”

He said the early advocates identified the most credible research at the time and used “old-fashioned” fundraising methods like telethons to crowdfund their work. They built a grassroots movement and increased their scientific expertise. Through their efforts, defeating cancer is now an international priority with communities of millions crusading in the fight against this devastating disease closely linked to ageing.

Comito said Lifespan.io takes a similar approach, but for all aging-related diseases. They have built a large community of people by sharing confirmed news of new developments in longevity, crowdfunding research using blockchain technology and creating some of the “most successful YouTube collaborations in the space”.

“In 2017, I helped write the script for a popular series of aging videos that were the most viewed videos the week they came out, with 14 million views within days. Reaching these numbers six years ago was huge, and similar conditions were overwhelmingly positive.” This illustrated to the field, Keith said, that it was okay for long-term researchers to come out in the open and not be ashamed of their revolutionary and life-saving work.

Comito utilizes various skills honed from a diverse background, including computer programming, biology and mathematics. He’s invented several metaverse-adjacent technologies, developed software that’s been adopted into widely used services like HBO Now, MLB at Bat, and Disney+, and even accidentally created a chart-topping Chuck Norris Joke Generator as a throwback joke in the early days. of mobile applications. Today, he looks at ways to bring our world into the metaverse that not only excites us, but also heals our minds and bodies. Keith sees the future of Web3 overlapping and supporting the future of longevity, while connecting with other hot sectors such as gaming and VR.

Shaking up science

Comito said one area he has spent the last few years exploring is the pure fundraising potential of cryptocurrency, working with organizations like Gitcoin and Angel Protocol to brainstorm new models of cryptophilanthropy to fund scientific breakthroughs. Of course, a number of “crypto heavyweights already support life extension research,” he says. Vitalik Buterin, for example, has supported several long-term projects, donating crypto to causes such as the SENS Research Foundation. This connection goes all the way back to the birth of cryptocurrency—through the support of early cypherpunks like Hal Finney, says Comito, who theorizes that the common thread is transcending boundaries, whether financial or biological, to lead humanity to a brighter future.

The potential of blockchain technology to drive research longevity goes far beyond raising money, especially with respect to decentralized science, or “DeSci.” “There are promising potential treatments for Alzheimer’s that lack traditional profit motives, such as those that can be developed with blockchain-based crowdsourcing,” he said.

Therapy such as flickering lights and sounds at certain frequencies can remedy dementia. Comito himself is working on such an approach with his colleagues at Lifespan.io – aiming to launch a first-of-its-kind decentralized clinical trial to test non-drug interventions for Alzheimer’s disease, with the blessing of public organizations such as the National Institute of Health .

“There have been very public failures in the treatment of Alzheimer’s with traditional approaches,” Comito said. “Over a trillion dollars has been spent on research, with remarkably little progress.”

He said a non-drug solution discovered by a decentralized group of people on the Internet would be a “complete earthquake.” Decentralized science, driven by groups such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), can also overcome problems associated with traditional research institutes. DAO governance promotes transparency and rewards productivity, aspects that can help promote research longevity.

“I think we tend to look at organizations like the FDA and the NIH as calcified and anti-crypto,” Comito said. “But my experience has been that leaders of such organizations actually want us to shake things up. With the help of blockchain technology, we can achieve medical advances so powerful and undeniable that existing systems will have no choice but to change.”

Crypto will drive further innovation in the space

Comito acknowledges that crypto has some perception issues to overcome in the wake of the FTX collapse. However, he sees it as more of a product of the overall market. While it’s true that it’s difficult right now for charities to raise money, Comito is optimistic that we’ll see a future filled with exponential growth.

“Last year, a number of charities started diving into crypto because the market was hot,” he said. “They’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, and now is the time to build and figure out who really gets to do something interesting. When the market recovers, these projects will be in good shape. We’re building tools to do something amazing in the next the years.”

Organizations such as Endaoment and The Giving Block are laying the foundations for a philanthropic shift. In the area of ​​longevity, VitaDAO and the Longevity Science Foundation continue to fund cutting-edge research in the quest to extend our lives and enrich our health. This could also look like crypto and blockchain technology eventually playing a role in streamlining data interactions that will have a role in facilitating longevity.

We are fast approaching a world where everyone can own their data, carry it in their healthcare wallet. This could help eliminate bloated industrial architecture that relies on paper records in such large parts of the world. In turn, this can accelerate opportunities for people to participate in clinical trials, reduce costs, facilitate payments to participants, limit emission-heavy travel, achieve diversity goals and lead to more standardized data.

“Concerns need to be addressed, but it’s something we can do together as a crowd, which we consider a DAO for humanity,” Comito said. “Blockchain technology is not going away, and will have a key role to play in a future where all people will have sovereignty – not only over their currency and data, but also over their healthy lifespan.”