A life sciences competition is challenging teams of researchers worldwide to “hack the aging code” for a $1 million cash prize. The Palo Alto Longevity Prize aims to encourage researchers to discover novel ways to slow the aging process, with the ultimate goal of extending the average lifespan by 50%.

In addition to the $1 million prize, the Palo Alto Longevity Prize organization is partnering with several VC firms, angel investors, corporate venture arms, institutions, and private foundations, which will provide additional capital to participating research teams during the competition.

Joon Yun, Ph.D., president of Palo Alto Investors and the primary benefactor for the prize, believes, based on previous research, that it is inevitable that we are going to solve aging. “Now that we've got the process started, this is going so fast,” he comments in a video made about the prize (see below for the video). “We've got a world-class board of advisors, and it keeps growing.”

The competition will officially be launched on September 9 at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco. The launch event is being held from 12–5 PM PST (3–8 PM EST) and will feature presentations from Dr. Yun and several team leaders. 

For more on the prize, check out the video below, which features interviews with Dr. Yun and other prominent researchers including Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., from the SENS Foundation and Peter Diamandis, M.D., founder and chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation. (If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.)

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