Open problems in ageing science: a roadmap for biogerontology

Abstract

The field of ageing science has gone through remarkable progress in recent decades, yet many fundamental questions remain unanswered or unexplored. Here we present a curated list of 100 open problems in ageing and longevity science. These questions were collected through community engagement and further analysed using Natural Language Processing to assess their prevalence in the literature and to identify both well-established and emerging research gaps. The final list is categorised into different topics, including molecular and cellular mechanisms of ageing, comparative biology and the use of model organisms, biomarkers and the development of therapeutic interventions. Both long-standing questions and more recent and specific questions are featured. Our comprehensive compilation is available to the biogerontology community on our website (www.longevityknowledge.app). Overall, this work highlights current key research questions in ageing biology and offers a roadmap for fostering future progress in biogerontology.