Fountain of Youth Discovered? Ask the Mouse!!-Scientist Wins the First Methuselah Foundation Rejuvenation "M Prize" for Reversing Aging in Middle-Aged Mice Using Techniques Applicable to Human Beings
Market Wire
23 Nov 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 23, 2004 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Chairman of The Methuselah Foundation (www.Mprize.org), awarded the first ever Methuselah Mouse Rejuvenation Prize to Dr. Stephen Spindler, who lead the first experiment to achieve rejuvenation in middle-aged mice, making them biologically younger while extending their lifespans.
The award was presented on November 21st during the 2004 Gerontological Society of America Conference in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Spindler's research was astounding because it began with mice that were in middle age. This research, first reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science achieved decisive increases of 15% average and maximum lifespan, AND was accompanied by significant early reductions of deaths from cancer. The fact that mice actually became younger was verified by genetic microarray analysis. Video showing that mice were more active and vibrant than their years can be found at http://www.biomarkerinc.com/html/video1-hi.htm
Dr. de Grey of Cambridge University UK, Chairman and Chief Science Advisor to the Methuselah Foundation said, "We are very proud to honor Dr. Spindler and his main financial supporter, The Life Extension Foundation, for their historic and groundbreaking research. The "M Prize" is meant to inspire and encourage this kind of serious scientific progress and innovation in extending the healthy human lifespan."
While many people and organizations have already begun to openly question the ethics of such research, Dr. de Grey said, "Increased life spans in humans will result in increased knowledge to solve many of the problems we face." He also states that by making people younger it would "make them more productive for longer lives," which would help "alleviate the funding crisis faced by the Social Security Administration" in the United States.
The Methuselah Foundation's Rejuvenation Prize -- in the spirit of the recently successful Ansari X PRIZE for space tourism -- is designed to encourage investors and scientists to compete in a worthy endeavor. To accomplish a future of greatly reduced human suffering through widely available rejuvenation therapies, the Foundation is offering cash prizes for teams that exceed the bar set by Dr. Spindler's remarkable experiment. Already six world-class teams are competing.
The Methuselah Foundation is supported by individuals who are no longer willing to stand by and do nothing while the diseases of aging disable and then take their irreplaceable loved ones away. They are taking matters into their own hands and inviting others to join with them to cure and reverse aging. Among the over 100 donors and sponsors, including the X PRIZE Foundation, Foresight Institute, the Life Extension Foundation, Dr. William Haseltine -- Founder of Human Genome Sciences and Dr. Raymond Kurzweil -- noted futurist and entrepreneur.
The Methuselah Foundation prize fund currently stands at over half million dollars and is accepting tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships to increase the prize fund. For more information, please visit www.MPrize.org.
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=161068
Contact information: Paulina Piekarski Connors Communications 212.798.1407 [email protected]
SOURCE: The Methuselah Foundation
