Understanding and unravelling the biological mechanisms of ageing with the ultimate aim of achieving healthy old age. The focus is on efforts to understand, prevent, cure or minimize age-related impairments, and extend health-span. Biological section encourages new ideas and discussions on modulating the ageing process by physical, chemical and biological means, including transgenic and knockout organisms; cell culture systems to develop new approaches and health care products for maintaining or recovering the lost biochemical functions; immunology, autoimmunity and infection in ageing; vertebrates, invertebrates, micro-organisms and plants for experimental studies on genetic determinants of ageing and longevity; and biodemography and theoretical models linking ageing and survival kinetics. Biological section also organises or co-organise every second year the European Congress of Biogerontology in an IAGG-ER associated country.