Blockchain Meets Biotech: Helping Humans Live Longer with Ethereum
Enjin is partnering with the SENS Research Foundation to end age-related disease — with the help of ERC-1155 Ethereum blockchain assets powered by the Enjin Platform.
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”
― Frank Lloyd Wright
Since the dawn of time, humans have longed to preserve youth, from Cleopatra’s milk baths and Gilgamesh’s search for immortality to the legendary Fountain of Youth referred to by the likes of Herodotus, Alexander the Great, and Ponce de León.
Over time, this quest has shifted from seeking mythical waters and remedies to a scientific approach, but the end goal remains: helping humans live longer, healthier lives.
Enjin is proud to join this pursuit by partnering with the SENS Research Foundation (SRF), a non-profit organization working to transform the way the world researches and treats age-related disease.
We are thrilled to launch the SENS NFT Donation Store, a donation platform that leverages the power of our blockchain tools and Ethereum-powered ERC-1155 assets to help spark a revolution in medical research paradigms and kickstart a true rejuvenation biotechnology industry.
“I am happy to have been blessed with the opportunity to personally support SENS’s efforts. Their focus on creating solutions to the diseases of aging, one of the greatest problems facing humanity, is very much in line with my goal to positively impact the lives of millions of people around the world.”
— Vitalik Buterin, Creator of Ethereum
SENS NFT Donation Store
The SENS NFT Donation Store is a collaborative project by the SENS Research Foundation and Enjin.
Donors can now use their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin to make a positive impact on the world and support the vital work of SRF to fight age-related disease via the donation platform powered by Enjin.
“Our work to cure crippling age-related diseases relies entirely on active partners and donors like the Ethereum Foundation and Enjin.
Their ongoing support has a real and powerful positive impact on the vital work we’re doing to both improve quality of life and extend healthy human longevity.”
— Aubrey de Grey, SRF Co-founder & Chief Science Officer
Contributions to the SENS Donation Store will support SRF in their mission to research, develop, and promote comprehensive regenerative medicine solutions for the diseases and disabilities of aging.
In return for their contributions, donors will receive tangible rewards in the form of unique blockchain-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) minted with Enjin Coin (ENJ)—“SENS Collectibles.”
“One of Ethereum Foundation’s goals is to grow our community through support for innovative projects that can have real and positive impact around the world.
We recognize the work of projects like Enjin that are building within the thriving Ethereum ecosystem and supporting worthy charitable causes like the SRF.”
— Aya Miyaguchi, Ethereum Foundation Executive Director
SENS Collectibles
Each SENS-themed token available on the Donation Store is backed by ENJ and represents a specific SRF project.
By purchasing SENS Collectibles, donors are directly helping SRF to spark a revolution in medical research paradigms and kickstart a true rejuvenation biotechnology industry.
In addition to serving as a permanent public record of their contributions on the Ethereum blockchain, donors can also utilize their SENS Collectibles as items within participating games.
Holders of these assets will be granted extended life within the games that support them—including multiple members of the Enjin Multiverse.
“Like the Ethereum Foundation, the Enjin team is committed to using the tremendous power of blockchain to practically benefit and support struggling communities and important scientific research being done globally.
By creating a more exciting, playful, and incentive-based system for people to donate, we will encourage an ecosystem for active ongoing contributions with strong potential to go viral globally, rather than one-time donations.”
— Maxim Blagov, Enjin Co-founder & CEO
SENS NK Cell vs Senescent Cell
Senescent cells are pesky little critters that cause inflammation and damage our bodies.
They have a natural enemy: Natural Killer (NK) cells. These little guys are tough, purging our bodies of all senescent cells—almost all, that is.
The solution?
Developing new ways of keeping these senescent cells from hiding, allowing Natural Killer cells to identify them and clear them out.
Helping keep our bodies young and healthy.
SENS Mitochondrion
The story of how mitochondria came to be is one of friendship.
Billions of years ago, something extraordinary happened: a tiny cell entered a large one, and two cells became one.
The smaller cell, now known as a mitochondrion, assumed the role of a power plant, producing all the energy that the large cell needed to become better and stronger.
This friendship continues today — the mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell, with its main job being to convert food into energy.
Unlike other parts of the cell, mitochondria have genes of their own. As we age, some of these genes get damaged, causing mayhem in the originating cell and wreaking havoc all over the place.
In contrast to old-school mitochondria, SENS Mitochondria come equipped with backup copies of critical genes — making them into superheroes of the cell.
SENS Mitochondria will continue working even if they are damaged, preserving cell function and preventing the harm to the rest of the body.
SENS Engineered Thymus
The SENS Engineered Thymus is the captain of biological immunity — a gland whose job is to produce and train tiny super-soldiers that fight off various nasty diseases.
These super-soldiers are called “T-Cells.” Led by the mighty SENS Engineered Thymus, they are a force to be reckoned with.
A regular Thymus is amazing; even though it stops working in our early teens, it manages to produce enough T-Cells to last us into our sixties!
Unlike a typical Thymus that quits when we’re young, the SENS Engineered Thymus is hard at work even when we’re old, constantly creating new T-Cells that keep the bad guys away.
SENS Lysosome
Lysosomes are little spheres that live inside cells and specialize in something of immense importance: breaking down damaged parts of the cell and forging them into raw materials for new growth.
Alas, some parts of the cell can get so damaged that even lysosomes can’t deal with them, or are so toxic they manage to destroy lysosomes. When this happens, cells progressively lose function, causing and contributing to nasty age-related diseases like Parkinson’s.
The SENS Lysosome is an augmented superhero that can effectively recycle these extremely damaged parts of the cell and even deal with toxic waste!
Recycling is important — especially on a cellular level.
SENS First Donor Badge
Become a first donor!
The first 250 people to purchase the SENS First Donor Pack will receive all four SENS collectibles, as well as a rare bonus SENS First Donor Badge that will be playable in multiple games.
The SENS First Donor Badge is a prestigious reward for the most devoted donors. Holders of this token have shown a dedication to the betterment of humanity above and beyond what most consider reasonable.
About SENS Research Foundation
SENS Research Foundation believes that a world free of age-related disease is possible.
SRF’s research is focused on the application of regenerative medicine to age-related disease, with the intent of repairing underlying damage to the body’s tissues, cells, and molecules.
With the goal of helping build the industry that will cure the diseases of aging, SRF supports research projects at prestigious universities and institutes around the world.
By engaging in and promoting exciting, achievable science to promote health, SRF is redefining the way the world researches, treats, and prevents age-related diseases—while inspiring the next generation of biomedical scientists.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has long supported SRF, to which he previously made a personal donation of $2.4 million in Ether.
At Enjin, we continually strive to do and create things that are not just new and big — but revolutionary.
While its primary purpose is to raise funds for a worthy cause, the SENS NFT Donation Store is also designed to showcase how gamification of the fundraising process can foster a more playful, engaging framework for donors.
And as a pilot platform, the SENS Donation Store is only just the start.
We aim to show the world how they can utilize the power of the blockchain and decentralized technology to drive more effective, interactive fundraising for charities and worthy causes — and revolutionize the way donors interact with the social impact organizations they care about most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does SENS Research Foundation use its donations?
The SENS Research Foundation is managed by an impartial Board of Directors, their finances are audited as a 501(c)(3) public charity, they maintain a competitive indirect rate even though they are a young charity, and they maintain a focus on the efficient use of every dollar received.
Your contribution helps make possible:
- Intramural research at SRF California headquarters
- Extramural research at prestigious universities and other state-of-the-art laboratory facilities throughout the world
- Grants and summer internships for students (via the SRF Education program)
- Educational and informational resource development
- Conferences and special events relevant to rejuvenation biotech
For a detailed breakdown of SRF expenses, please see their organizational reports.
Why is it so important to support SENS Research Foundation?
In short, because all over the world, people and societies are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of aging.
The amount of time, money, and energy already being poured into attempts to thwart diseases like Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes is tremendous. Unfortunately, despite progress in treating the symptoms of these diseases, not a single one of them has yet been cured.
SRF aims to change the way the world researches and treats age-related disease. They believe it will take a charity to spark a revolution in medical research paradigms and create the initial energy for a true rejuvenation biotechnology industry to develop.
SRF is the only non-profit currently prioritizing a regenerative medicine approach to the diseases of aging, and only with your support can they continue to push the frontiers of medicine along this critical but neglected path.
What is an Ethereum Blockchain Asset?
Ethereum blockchain assets are a new class of virtual items that are stored, managed, and protected on the Ethereum blockchain — the most decentralized blockchain in the world.
Unlike centralized assets, which are locked within servers where users are given conditional access to them at the server operator’s discretion, blockchain assets are truly owned by token holders. Owners can hold these assets forever, trade them freely, sell them for profit, and even use them in multiple platforms that support them.
Blockchain assets are extremely flexible and can come in the form of non-fungible (unique) or fungible (identical) tokens. As a result, the technology provides new monetization, marketing, and engagement opportunities for organizations, while delivering users true sovereignty over their virtual items.
What is a SENS Collectible?
SENS Collectibles are immutable rewards that donors receive in return for their contributions to the SENS Research Foundation via the SENS NFT Donation Store.
These blockchain assets are extremely rare collector’s items that can be used in multiple games within the Enjin Multiverse—a network of over 35 interconnected games, apps, and websites that share support for certain blockchain assets.
Owners of SENS Collectibles will be granted extended life within the games that support them.
What is the SENS First Donor Badge?
The SENS First Donor Badge is a prestigious reward for the most devoted donors. The first 250 people to purchase the SENS First Donor Pack will receive all four SENS collectible tokens, as well as a rare bonus SENS First Donor Badge that will be playable in multiple games.
The SENS NFT Donation Store is now live. Visit sens.enjin.io to join the fight against age-related disease.
