LinkGevity convenes Biotech Beyond Earth
Space is pushing the limits of human biology & any breakthroughs there may transform medicine on Earth.
LinkGevity convened a flagship conference, sponsored by the UK Space Agency, bringing together astronauts, scientists, investors & biotech innovators at the Babraham Research Campus to explore the rapidly emerging field of space health & longevity science.
As humanity prepares for long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars & beyond, one of the greatest challenges is not rocket science - it’s the human body. Microgravity & cosmic radiation accelerate ageing, damage organs, impair cognition & dramatically alter human physiology. Understanding these changes is essential for space exploration and unlocking entirely new approaches to treat ageing & age-related disease here on Earth.
Elizabeth Reynolds (Translational Research Institute for Space Health), Dr. Carina Kern (LinkGevity), Prof Damian Bailey (European Space Agency - ESA) & Chris P. (Exobiosphere) explored how space acts as an accelerated testing ground for biomedical insights, drug discovery & therapeutic development, and how breakthroughs on Earth could enable long-duration human missions in space.
Matthew C. (UK Space Agency), Louise Jopling (Babraham Research Campus) & Stuart Catchpole (Space East), highlighted the growing convergence between the UK’s space & life sciences ecosystems.
Prof Damian Bailey, Dr Meganne Christian FRAeS & Dr. Immanuel Gartner discussed how microgravity, radiation & physiological stress challenge every system in the human body, and what this teaches us about protecting health both in orbit & on Earth.
Insights from Keith Siew (UCL), David Cullen (Cranfield University), Tuva Cihangir Atasever, Ian Johnson (European Space Agency - ESA) & Aliasger Salem (University of Iowa) explored how space research is revealing new mechanisms of organ damage and cellular stress.
Panel discussions chaired by Rafal Libera and Kate Arkless Gray discussed the investment environment and the future of this cutting edge field.
Read more about this in a conference paper published in Experimental Physiology: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP093956
