Hey there, Vitalians! Last month we looked back on all VitaDAO did in 2023. As of today, VitaDAO has deployed over $4.2M and funded over 22 projects.g This month, VitaDAO approved a 2024–2025 mandate outlining a future with more IPTs, more NFTs, and yes, more acronyms. Through its involvement with Vitalia’s Longevity Biotech conference, VitaDAO also delved deeper into the development of network states and their ability to expedite scientific progress. Join us as we recap all that went DAOn in February!
🌴Welcome to Vitalia
If you’ve been following VitaDAO, you’ve likely seen “Vitalia” mentioned a time, or two, or three. So what’s the deal with Vitalia? In its current form, Vitalia is a decentralized pop-up city aimed at exploring healthy co-living and aligned to make death optional. Nestled within Próspera’s special economic zone on Roatán Island, Vitalia is a city of innovation, community, and progress. In its first 2.5 months, over 500 individuals have visited to talk, learn, work, and collaborate at Vitalia. Morgan Weaver, in collaboration with Stranded Technologies, wrote an introduction to life at Vitalia in her article, “A Beginner’s Guide to Vitalia”. In the future, Vitalia hopes to create a multi-jurisdiction society that accelerates biomedical innovation and the development of life-extension technologies. At last year’s Network State Conference, Laurence Ion spoke on Vitalia’s Vision for Longevity Cities.
So why Próspera? Why Roatan?
Why was a private city in Honduras picked for the experiment? Próspera is a special economic zone on the island of Roatán (Honduras). The city is a semi-autonomous zone with its own fiscal, regulatory, and legal framework. This special zone allows for increased medical freedom with fewer regulatory barriers. Moreover, it allows for Vitalia to be self-governing; to create its laws, and to explore different governance models. This autonomy paves the way for Vitalia to experiment with governance models and laws, aiming to reduce the time and cost associated with clinical trials drastically. Think of it as VitaDAO’s playground for testing out how fast one can get from zero to a finished clinical trial.
This month, VitaDAO hosted a second Longevity Biotech Conference at Vitalia, drawing over 200 attendees from around the globe in attendance and even more virtual attendees. The conference was three days of discussion on the latest in longevity and rejuvenation biotechnology. VitaDAO’s Marina Marinova highlighted key talks from each of the three conference days in a Longevity.Technology article.
- Watch a live stream of Conference Day 1: Shaping Civilization: From Longevity Cities to the Science of Rejuvenation
- Watch a live stream of Conference Day 2: Unveiling the Future of Health, Longevity, and Life Extension
- Watch a live stream of Conference Day 3: The Ever-Growing Longevity Industry
When discussing Vitalia, Naval puts it best, “What’s more important than living forever?”
Review of Longevity Biomarkers Published
Over the last 1.5 years, VitaDAO has been working diligently on a comprehensive review of the current longevity biomarker landscape.
This significant piece of research has now been published on ResearchHub, making it accessible for both scientists and domain experts around the globe. We strongly encourage the academic community to engage with this work by leaving insightful comments on the manuscript. To recognize the importance of quality academic peer review, contributors will be rewarded with $RSC.
🎧The VitaDAO Aging Science Podcast
In VitaDAO’s latest podcast episodes, host Kamil Pabis discussed the mysteries of longevity and cellular resilience with two esteemed experts: Dr. Dan Ehninger and Professor Rudolf Wiesner. Tune in
for a dose of science that’s more invigorating than a double espresso.
Unraveling the Mysteries of Mouse Models with Dr. Dan Ehninger:
In this episode. Dr. Ehninger dives into the intricacies of modern mouse research and its implications for understanding aging. From the shortcomings of traditional mouse models to the quest for improvement of research design, Dr. Ehninger’s insights challenge conventional ways of thinking. He discusses the reliability of rapamycin and caloric restriction and questions the fundamental assumptions underlying aging research. In doing so, Dr. Ehninger’s skepticism provides a refreshing perspective. Despite the controversies, his call for rigorous foundational research resonates, reminding the listener of the importance of questioning assumptions and pursuing scientific inquiry with an open mind.
Shedding Light on Mitochondrial Mysteries with Professor Rudolf Wiesner:
In a separate episode, Kamil Pabis ventures into the microscopic world of mitochondria with Professor Rudolf Wiesner. Professor Wiesner’s work focuses on understanding how mitochondrial damage, particularly caused by DNA deletions, leads to organ dysfunction and aging-related diseases. Mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell, play multifaceted roles in cellular function, and their dysfunction contributes to diverse aging processes. Professor Wiesner’s insights shed light on the tantalizing quest to understand — and potentially reverse — the aging process.
Monthly Longevity Challenge: Longevity Nutrition
Starting March 15, join our “Nutrition for Longevity” challenge, concluding on April 15. Improve your health and nutrition to win:
- 🥇1st Place: 100 VITA
- 🥈2nd Place: 50 VITA
- 🥉3rd Place: 25 VITA
For details, see the Longevity Nutrition Guide here.
How to Win: Earn points through longevity nutrition activities. Submit proof (video, screenshot, photo, or log) here. The highest scores win. Join the challenge in the VitaDAO Discord server, #longevity-challenge
📣Community Approved: What YOU voted for!
Thanks to your clicks, we’re doing things! Since the last newsletter, four proposals successfully passed! These proposals include:
- VDP 135 VitaDAO Project Phase Out Protocol: This proposal outlined a standard operating procedure to phase out VitaDAO-funded academic projects and spinouts in an efficient way that preserves relationships with the researchers and academic institutions involved.
- VDP-140 Tokenization of the ArtanBio IP-NFT: As a result of VDP-140, VitaDAO will tokenize the ArtanBIO IP-NFT to raise $300,000 for research advancement. In exchange, the community will be granted voting power to govern the IP and participate in R&D decision-making and capital allocation
- VDP 134 VitaDAO <> CryoDAO Partnership: VitaDAO and CryoDAO are joining forces in a formal DAO2DAO partnership, aiming to amplify cryopreservation research and longevity. The relationship includes but is not limited to shared deal flow and co-funding of research projects, collaboration in various working groups and awareness, and a $100k token swap, with an additional $50k in funding for cryopreservation research from VitaDAO.
- VitaDAO 2024–2025 Mandate Proposal: VitaDAO’s new mandate prioritizes tokenized asset efforts and fosters community growth, within a $2.5m budget by 2025. Mandate goals include:
- Creating 10 IPTs!
- Funding $10M of commercializable early-stage longevity research!
- Generating $1M in revenue through the membership portal!
- Growing VitaDAO into a top 100 crypto community by size!
- Growing the treasury by $15M!
💪Exercise Your Right to Vote
Visit VitaDAO’s governance hub (Discourse) to engage with, vote on, and discuss proposals before they are moved to Snapshot. Our governance hub is more exciting than scrolling through cat videos. Well, almost. Together, we can shape the future of VitaDAO and accelerate decentralized science.
🚨A Bit of Rapid Fire News
- Earlier this year, VitaDAO announced the closure of a $1.3M fundraising round focused on growing asset tokenization (IPTs) & community efforts; with support from Sora Ventures, Tioga Capital, BeakerDAO, and others!
- VitaDAO was rewarded 22,116.86 $OP in the RetroPGF Round 3 for its involvement and impact in the Optimism ecosystem! Optimistically speaking, that’s a lot.
- Laurence Ion chatted with Ivan Morgunov, founder of Longaevus Technologies. They discussed the future of Vitalia, the role of VitaDAO in the DeSci community, and the definition of Vitalism.
- The Longevity Prize has teamed up with Ora Biomedical for the “Million Molecule Challenge: Longevity Prize.” The Longevity Prize is sponsoring testing on Ora’s WormBot for the first 100 applications that propose compounds or combinations (2x) that could lead to a significant lifespan increase in C. elegans.
🤝Thanks for Reading!
Want to stay up to date with all that’s going VitaDAOn? Join us on Discord, subscribe to our Twitter, visit our website, and follow our Instagram! You can now connect your wallet to VitaDAO’s Members Portal to learn about exclusive member benefits and find VitaDAO’s treasury dashboard. Find updated information on VitaDAO’s funded projects on our website. Help us solve aging through science!
