By Karie Shen

For one week in early October, Boston became the center of the aging and longevity world. 

Boston Longevity Week, a collaboration between Longevity Global and the Biomarkers of Aging Consortium that started in 2025, ran from Oct. 1–7, with additional events spilling into Oct. 11. Researchers, clinicians, investors, and entrepreneurs from all over the world mingled in a program that stretched from Harvard Medical School’s campus to fitness wearable WHOOP’s Kenmore Square headquarters. The week’s highlights included the three-day Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting, as well as the two-day Biomarkers of Aging Conference. In between came an AI hackathon, a biotech pitch night, TEDxBoston, and a good deal of networking.

MIT Media Lab Professor Hugh Herr M.S. ’93 showed what replacement looks like when the replacement part is a machine. Herr is an amputee himself and a pioneer of advanced bionic prosthetics. He described advanced prostheses that integrate powered mechanics with signals from the user’s body to help restore movement. His ideas emphasized letting the person supply the intent, while the machine translates that intent into action. Rather than using a traditional electrical stimulation, Herr’s lab experiments with optogenetics, or using light to control muscle. Looking ahead, Herr predicted that wearable exoskeletons would become an ordinary sight on the streets of Cambridge and Boston.

Boston Longevity Week showed a field in transition, from big ideas to the hard work of validation, regulation, and clinical translation. Boston Longevity Week and the Biomarkers of Aging Consortium will be back in 2027. The challenge now is to turn longevity’s boldest ideas into reality.