Frequently asked questions
We are constantly expanding our questions and answers. If you have a question, do not hesitate: We are looking forward to receiving your questions. Just send us an email!
What is aging actually?
There are different ways to define biological aging, which often leads to confusion. Basically, aging is a series of side effects of the normal functioning of the human body. We age for the same reason a car ages: the operation (in our case metabolism) does not run smoothly, so damage accumulates in the structure of the body. At some point, the amount of molecular and cellular damage becomes so great that the body can no longer tolerate it and we eventually get the diseases of old age.
These include, for example, cancer (the vast majority of types), Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, macular degeneration, osteoporosis and many more. Currently, the probability of becoming ill and dying increases exponentially with age from about 25 onwards.
Is one single issue enough for a party?
Normally no – but our topic is an exception. Aging causes immense suffering worldwide. Today’s biotechnological progress offers realistic opportunities for the first time to develop effective rejuvenation medicine that comprehensively repairs the damage of aging. People could remain physically and mentally healthy and able with this medicine, no matter how long ago they were born. We want to accelerate the development of this medicine and thus alleviate a lot of suffering. Although every single person is affected by the issue, it is far from being satisfactorily addressed by the major parties. Therefore, this one issue justifies the existence of a single-issue party.
Why is a party the right way to deal with this issue?
The party offers people a way to support rejuvenation research relatively easily – through their vote or by becoming a free member of the party.
Other ways to support research should also be undertaken, such as foundations or associations. But the development of rejuvenation therapies will require many resources. For example, if we were to invest an additional ten percent of the federal budget to develop the therapies, that would amount to about 40 billion euros per year. Such amounts could not be achieved through other means such as fundraising alone. However, we have to invest such orders of magnitude in funds if we want to develop this medicine in the foreseeable future.
Will only the wealthy be able to afford this future medicine?
No. Rejuvenation therapies will be available to all – for purely economic reasons. Today’s medicine is very expensive and at the same time immature. Rejuvenation medicine will fundamentally change this situation, as it will prevent age-related decline and thus make the need for expensive prolonged treatments and care obsolete. Thus, a country that does not make this medicine available to all its citizens would be at a great economic disadvantage compared to those countries that do provide it for their population. A country that does not make use of this possibility will not be able to generate enough wealth in the future to finance its expenses and be considered a good borrower for other countries, and will sooner or later go bankrupt.
Today’s precedent is basic education, which is a national investment in the future, just as rejuvenation medicine will be – it is accessible to all free of charge.
Wouldn’t it be better to fight the diseases of old age?
Fighting aging is by far the most effective way to combat the diseases of old age. The forefront of aging research now predominantly sees the underlying aging process, i.e. the accumulation of damage, as the root of the problem. Diseases of old age such as Alzheimer’s, heart attacks and strokes are merely the late stages of aging, which is why it makes little sense from a biological point of view to consider certain parts of aging such as Alzheimer’s and „aging itself“ separately. We call some aspects of aging a disease, others not. An example of the latter is frailty, which is not classified as a disease but as a syndrome. However, all these individual parts of aging (or diseases) have one thing in common: as things stand, each of us is guaranteed to get them if we do not die of another part first.
As already explained, aging is nothing more than the accumulation of damage, which ultimately manifests itself in the diseases mentioned. But if – as geriatrics is trying to do today – we fight the diseases of aging only in the late stage of life when they have already appeared, the battle is lost from the start. Just as it doesn’t do much good to replace the brakes on a rusting car, a blood-thinning drug prevents the formation of blood clots but doesn’t address the cause: the deposits in the arteries. Therefore, these deposits continue to accumulate until they eventually lead to a blood clot or other problems. The damage-repair approach starts with the damage that leads to age-related diseases and death in the first place, and aims to keep it below the level at which it becomes dangerous by regular repair.
To advocate the treatment of cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes, but at the same time to reject the fight against aging, is thus to be in favour of medicine, but only as long as it does not work well.
How many members does the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research have?
321 (as of 29.11.2022)
Why is the issue still so little known to the public?
Rejuvenation research is a fairly new scientific field. Most people are still unaware of the great advances that biotechnology and especially regenerative medicine have made in recent years. In addition, most people put aging and death out of their minds because until now we have been unable to do anything about it and have somehow had to resign ourselves to our short and miserable lives. Because of this, many people who are otherwise open to discussion are unwilling to take a closer and more differentiated look at the topic and are thus usually stuck in their opinions, so that it is difficult or impossible to convince them argumentatively that aging is one of the biggest problems of humanity from a social point of view and should be fought. This phenomenon is called pro-aging trance.
The Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research seeks to raise awareness through publicity work of our present opportunity to develop effective medicine to combat aging, and gives everyone an easy way to get involved in accelerating this all-important development by becoming a free member or by voting in the elections.
How can I hasten the development of rejuvenation medicine?
Vote for us.
You can also become a member of the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research – membership is free.
The most important thing is to bring the issue to the public. Please tell your acquaintances, friends and relatives that we now have the chance to develop medicine in the near future that will keep people young and healthy indefinitely if the state invests more money in this research. However, if the people do not demand this, the state will not increase its investment significantly and many more millions of people will age and die. So it is extremely important to take action now.
With which parties would the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Medicine form a coalition?
With all the major parties except the AfD. So with the CDU, the SPD, the Greens, the FDP and the Left.
Is it not enough for rich people to invest more in this area?
No. For example, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife are investing three billion dollars over the next ten years to cure all diseases, or about 300 million dollars per year. If we were to invest just an extra ten percent of the federal budget, that would already be more than a hundred times Zuckerberg’s investment.
Does the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research only want to hasten the development of rejuvenation medicine?
Yes. The Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research advocates for the faster development of medicine against aging to enable people to live indefinitely long healthy lives. However, research against other medical problems should in no way be cut. It will also certainly benefit from intensified rejuvenation research, for example, through the use of new knowledge gained from the increased study of cellular mechanisms or through the faster development of new technologies.
What is the meaning of the party logo?
The logo of the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research symbolises the damage-repair approach. The left empty circle symbolises a cell with few harmful changes and the right filled circle symbolises a cell with many harmful changes. The upper arrow represents time: Over time, the harmful changes accumulate in the cell. The lower arrow represents the future medicine that repairs the damage and thus rejuvenates the cell.
Wouldn’t it be unfair to young citizens to invest so much money in rejuvenation research?
No, because young people will also benefit from our plan: In addition to financial relief due to falling costs of illness and care, they will no longer have to watch their loved ones suffer and die from aging and related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. More young people will get an interesting scientific education. And the young generation is also aging and will sooner or later need rejuvenation medicine.
How should the extra money for research be invested?
Half of this additional investment is to go into the construction and operation of new research facilities. The other half is to be used to train more scientists in relevant fields such as biochemistry, molecular biology and medicine. To this end, the corresponding departments at universities are to be expanded.
Is aging a disease?
Whether aging should be classified as a disease is a matter of debate among experts (Harvard professor David Sinclair is one of the proponents), but ultimately it is a semantic question. Aging causes disease and is therefore a medical problem, which makes it a legitimate target for intervention.
How does the Party for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research relate to other political issues?
The party wants to form a government coalition with one or more other parties and only deal with the issue of rejuvenation research itself. The party does not want to get involved in other political issues. These can be dealt with by the coalition partners.