How crypto can help longevity research (VitaDAO)

Over the past few months I’ve been hearing more and more about cryptocurrencies. I originally heard of bitcoin 2 years ago but it wasn’t until last year that I tried to understand it and what the hype was about. And well, it turns out there isn’t just something called bitcoin, but there’s something called Ethereum and altcoins and yeah I pretty much fell down a rabbit hole. And the more I learnt about it, the more I realised it was less about some “get rich quick scheme” but to me, it was more about the underpinning technology and its applications.

But, at the same time i can't ignore the fact that some people have made a lot of money from it - however many want to do something impactful with their wealth. For example, you may have heard of the creator behind the Ethereum blockchain and youngest known crypto billionaire, Vitalik Buterin, who donated, at least at the time ~$1B to the India Covid Relief Fund, and who has also donated millions to other charities including the Methuselah Foundation, a non-profit medical charity focused on extending the healthy human lifespan. But he is just one example of many.

So, whilst I have a somewhat beginners understanding of blockchain and decentralised technologies, that isn’t only what I am going to talk about in this video because there are much more knowledgeable people than me who can explain that in much more detail. Instead, I thought it would be cooler to see how the use of this technology could be applied to academic research, how it can aid with funding for research projects and how everyone could be involved, whether you are a researcher yourself, a longevity enthusiast, a crypto enthusiast, or all three.

TIMESTAMPS - How crypto can help longevity research (VitaDAO);
Intro - 00:00
Funding in academia - 01:55
Blockchain & decentralised technologies - 04:30
VitaDAO and decentralized autonomous organizations - 06:20
Thoughts and how to get involved - 09:00

USEFUL REFERENCES;

[BrentNally]

Well done video as always Eleanor! I’ve been invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for a few years and have been passionate about solving the human aging problem ASAP for over a decade so the potential of VitaDAO is very exciting to me.

[lsd]

One of the best brief explanations of blockchain I've ever watched thx Eleanor. This is a truly exciting concept. I will start following VitaDAO closely from now on & try to engage with the community. Research funding needs new approaches!

[brewhog]

I love when multiple concepts I'm studying converge on one of my favorite channels. Thank you for this!

[neilchristensen]

Great video! I agree, this is an interesting development. I hope it succeeds.

[blkshk]

Thank you so much, Eleanor! I’ve been waiting for this specifically!

[rylaczero]

Ethereum is going to be killer in 2022 when it becomes 100, 000 times scalable after planned merge and optimization tricks like sharding.

[akinyemidayotafiq]

And is gonna be well explored since blockchain technology will be use to improve biotechnology. let's see how VitaDAO is gonna take DeSci to the next level. I got a good entry during MEXC listing and I'm glad trading VITA on the exchange

[spydula]

I really like this. Because this is a different approach and not occurring in isolation—but instead concurrently with other funding methods—it may disrupt the market by precipitating insight in specific areas of research often left underfunded due to parochial investment practices.

[LesleyBirsner]

Thanks for posting! Hoping for some guidance: My Tron Wallet holds some Tether, and I know the backup phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. Could you suggest how to handle transferring them to Coinbase Exchange?

[immortalityIMT]

Immortality IMT is also a cryptocurrency for life extension science.

[DamianThurton]

Appreciate it for publishing this! Hoping for some advice: My wallet on OKX holds some Tether, and I know the seedphrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. How to proceed with transferring them to OKX Exchange?

[abrahamoconnor]

Thanks for posting! I need advice: My Trust Wallet contains some USDT trx, and I possess the recovery phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. Could you suggest how should I go about sending them to Upbit?

[gustavopowers]

Thank you for sharing! Looking for guidance: My Trust Wallet has some USDT, and I have the recovery phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. What’s the best way to proceed with transferring them to Bybit?

[JamalVandervelden]

Thanks for publishing this! Looking for help: My OKX wallet has some Tether, and I possess the recovery phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. How can I handle sending them to Kraken?

[PasqualeSeiver]

Thank you for sharing! Hoping for some help: My OKX wallet has some TRX 20 USDT, and I possess the seed phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. How can I go about moving them to my Binance account?

[johnmclaughlin]

Love your show Eleanor. Though VitaDAO seems like an extreme long shot to me. There are now thousands of failed crypto projects including many with good social intentions. They mostly fail because crypto currencies depend on a collective faith in their value, and that faith is generally very fleeting. Consider this as a longevity researcher: what fraction of your salary would you like to be paid in VitaDAO tokens or NFTs? If that's only a small amount then that's an important data point -- specifically that a you, a knowledgeable longevity researcher, don't have enough faith in the project to sustain it. So how can you realistically expect less informed people (including your research materials providers) to contribute? I'm not a hater of blockchain or crypto currencies. I own decent amounts of both Bitcoin and Ether, and believe that they (or their descendants) have bright futures. However I'd be highly skeptical of VitaDAO and would caution you not to be too distracted by the hope of a magic fountain of research funding.