The 2024 China Aging Science Conference (CASC) and the International Conference on Aging Biology were held in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, from April 26 to 28. This is the first time the CASC has been held outside of Beijing. The conference, themed "Decoding Aging", brought together 18 academicians in the field of aging research from home and abroad, 140 scientist representatives, and representatives from over 100 domestic and foreign universities, research institutes, and medical institutions, totaling more than 1,200 experts and scholars in related fields. They focused on the cutting-edge issues in aging and aging-related disease research, discussed strategies against aging, and contributed to the industrial development and innovation of aging research with their wisdom.

Chen Zhu, president of the Red Cross Society of China and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech entitled "Aging and the Prevention and Control of Major Chronic Diseases." Wu Jing, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress, Zheng Zhongwei, director of the Development Center for Medical Sciences and Technology of the National Health Commission, Zhang Wenjie, deputy secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Wenzhou, Wang Zhenyong, deputy mayor of Wenzhou, Pei Gang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, honorary chairman of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology, and honorary convener of the Chinese Aging Biomarker Consortium, Li Xiaokun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Wenzhou Medical University (WMU), Song Weihong, academician of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and academic vice president of WMU, and Liu Guanghui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and researcher of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the conference.

Wu Jing stated that Zhejiang has always deeply implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping’s major instructions on scientific and technological innovation, vigorously implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, focused on the three main fields of "Internet+", life and health, and new materials, and promoted the construction of the "315" scientific and technological innovation system. In the future, Zhejiang will continue to gather scientific and technological workers at home and abroad, focus on the needs of the country and the expectations of the people, vigorously cultivate new productive forces in the life and health sector, provide strong support for seizing the commanding heights of life and health research and accelerating the transformation of results, and ensure the achievements of scientific and technological innovation to benefit the people as soon as possible.

Zhang Wenjie, on behalf of the municipal Party committee and the municipal government, extended a warm welcome and gratitude to the guests. He said that Wenzhou has a fertile ground for innovation and development. The city is committed to building a bridge for cooperation and exchange, fostering connectivity and interconnection between scientific researchers nationwide and even worldwide, and promoting the sustainable and high-quality development of the health industry. He looked forward to the generation and transformation of more new ideas, results, and technologies, which will promote the translation of scientific research results of aging research into tangible benefits for the public, contributing to the cause of human health and longevity.

Pei Gang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, honorary chairman of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology, and honorary convener of the Chinese Aging Biomarker Consortium, highlighted that aging research involves the cross-development of multiple disciplines including life sciences, medicine, and biomedicine, and brings great potential and prospects for related industries. He considered CASC as a platform for promoting the exchange and cooperation in aging biology, translational aging medicine, and related fields, which plays a positive role in boosting the in-depth development of aging research and facilitating its translation into clinical applications in our country.

Li Xiaokun underscored the importance of aging research in light of an increasingly aging society. He hoped that this conference would serve as an opportunity to gather experts and scholars in the field of aging research at home and abroad. Through research on aging, we could find prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation methods for aging-related diseases, and jointly draw a new roadmap for aging research.

Song Weihong presided over the opening ceremony. Researcher Liu Guanghui presided over the keynote report session of the International Conference on Aging Biology.

During the three-day conference, more than 100 scientists participated in round-table discussions, delivered keynote reports, shared academic achievements, engaged in cutting-edge exchanges, and contributed their wisdom and insights under the theme of "Decoding Aging."

On April 26, in the Young Scientist Forum on Aging Research, 25 outstanding young scientists demonstrated their research through academic reports on topics such as common mechanisms of organ aging, aging clocks and their interventions, and the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell aging.

On April 27, the International Conference on Aging Biology featured a series of keynote presentations by leading scientists and academicians, including Chen Zhu, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte from the Altos Laboratory, Brian Macvicar from the University of British Columbia, fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Zhang Xu, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Eric Gilson from the University of Nice, foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Ji Weizhi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Xiaodong, foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, Bart De Strooper, member of the U.S. Academy of Medicine and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, Wang Yutian, fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and Gao Shaorong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The presentations included "Aging and Major Chronic Disease Prevention and Control", "Cell rejuvenation and disease", "Impact of microglia-astrocyte communication on neuronal function and survival", "Exploring new markers of cognitive disorders", "Linking telomeres to thermal effects in reef corals", "Preclinical research on monkey and human extraembryonic development, organogenesis, and degenerative diseases", "Regulated Cell Death Controlling the Aging of Reproductive System in Mammals", "The prodromal, cellular phase of Alzheimer's Disease", "Application of source protein degradation technology in brain science research and brain disease drug development", and "Epigenetic regulation of cell fate: Learning from early embryo development and somatic cell reprogramming", decoding aging from various perspectives, marking the beginning of this rich intellectual feast.

The round-table discussion session in the afternoon of the same day saw passionate discussions on hot topics in the field of aging research such as "comparing the approaches of reductionism and systems theory in aging research", "bridging the gap between aging research and medical health", and "promoting interdisciplinary integration and development of aging research" From the perspectives of basic integration, translational research, and win-win cooperation, experts and scholars expressed their views.

On April 28, in the thematic forums of aging research, 70 scientists made keynote reports around the three major aging research themes of "How old are we (aging measurement)", "Why do we age (aging mechanism)", and "How to age healthily (aging intervention)".

In order to encourage young scientific and technological workers in the field of aging research, CASC organized a special poster competition, invited 18 expert judges from 18 scientific research units across the country, and selected a total of 15 excellent posters through independent scoring. Each recipient received a certificate. This is to commend the outstanding representatives of the new forces in the field of aging research and encourage young scientific researchers to actively explore and drive future breakthroughs in the research of aging and aging-related diseases.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Aging Cell Biology Branch of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology, the Aging Genetics Branch of the Chinese Genetics Society, the Aging Biology Branch of the Chinese Biophysics Society, and was organized by the Oujiang Laboratory, the Geriatric Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, and the Geriatric Research Institute of Wenzhou Medical University. The conference highlighted the burgeoning interest in aging research within the scientific community, showed the dynamism and growth of the field of aging research, and played a positive role in driving China's aging research and related industrial development.

(Text translated by Yang Naibing and reviewed by Sun You）