Methuselah Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Methuselah Foundation studies methods of extending lifespan. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer organization
, co-founded by Aubrey de Grey
and David Gobel
, which is based in Springfield, Virginia
, United States
. Activities of the foundation include My Bridge 4 Life, a community tool designed to help people deal with the different diseases of aging; the Mprize, a monetary prize given to anyone who efficiently rejuvenates and/or extends the healthy lifespan of mice
, and various collaborative projects under the umbrella concept of MLife Sciences. The foundation takes it name from the Biblical character
whose name is commonly used to refer to any living organism reaching great age.
and Fortune magazine
.
The foundation believes that if reversing of aging can be exhibited in mice, an enormous amount of funding would be made available for similar research in humans, potentially including a massive government project similar to the Human Genome Project
, or by private for-profit companies.
The prize reached $1.5 million (USD) in August 2005, $3 million in November 2005, and $4 million in December 2006.
Whenever a record is broken, the researcher receives an amount based on the current size of the prize and the percentage by which they exceed the previously held record.
The longevity prize allows any type of intervention, including breeding
and genetic engineering
; only a single mouse has to be presented. , the record holder is a mouse whose growth hormone
receptor had been genetically knocked out
; it lived for 1819 days (almost 5 years).
The rejuvenation prize deals with peer-reviewed
studies involving at least 40 animals, 20 treated and 20 control. Treatment may begin only at mid-life, and the average lifespan of the 10% longest living treated animals is used for the record. , this record stands at 1356 days (about 3.7 years); the treatment was calorie restriction
.
Until November 2004, the foundation ran a reversal prize instead of the rejuvenation prize, with the following rules: the treatment of the mouse could be started at any age, and days before treatment had started were counted double. The winner was a mouse that did not receive any dietary or pharmacological treatment at all, just an enriched environment. The mouse lived for 1551 days (about 4.2 years).
.
provided undergraduate college students in any academic discipline with the knowledge and logistical support to develop projects which contribute to the advocacy or support of the Methuselah Foundation or its mission of radically extending healthy human life. The MFURI provided students within the United States education system with the opportunity to receive college credits, scholarships, and recommendations for their efforts. Students from other countries were eligible to apply for many of the available scholarships. The MFURI project was administered by a team of volunteer supervisors and coordinators and received scholarship funding from the Methuselah Foundation. As of March 2009, MFURI has stopped under the Methuselah Foundation's supervision and moved to SENS Foundation
, where it goes under the name of "the undergraduate component of the SENS Foundation's Academic Initiative."
, co-founder and former CEO of the online payments system PayPal
, announced that he is pledging $3.5 million to the Methuselah Foundation "to support scientific research into the alleviation and eventual reversal of the debilities caused by aging" (SENS research).
Justin Bonomo
, professional poker player, has pledged 5% of his tournament winnings for SENS research.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, co-founded by Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging and co-author...
and David Gobel
David Gobel
David Gobel is an American author, CEO, entrepreneur, inventor, and futurist.-Career:David Gobel is Chief Executive Officer of the . Working with Dr. Aubrey de Grey, he founded the original non-profit in 2000 which became the Methuselah Foundation, in an effort to reverse or preempt the damage of...
, which is based in Springfield, Virginia
Springfield, Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Activities of the foundation include My Bridge 4 Life, a community tool designed to help people deal with the different diseases of aging; the Mprize, a monetary prize given to anyone who efficiently rejuvenates and/or extends the healthy lifespan of mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
, and various collaborative projects under the umbrella concept of MLife Sciences. The foundation takes it name from the Biblical character
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
whose name is commonly used to refer to any living organism reaching great age.
The Mprize
In 2003, de Grey and Gobel cofounded The Mprize (known then as the "Methuselah Mouse Prize"), a prize designed to accelerate research into effective life extension interventions by awarding monetary prizes to researchers who extend the healthy lifespan of mice to unprecedented lengths. Regarding this, de Grey stated in March 2005, "if we are to bring about real regenerative therapies that will benefit not just future generations, but those of us who are alive today, we must encourage scientists to work on the problem of aging." The prize has been covered in many news sources, including the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Fortune magazine
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
.
The foundation believes that if reversing of aging can be exhibited in mice, an enormous amount of funding would be made available for similar research in humans, potentially including a massive government project similar to the Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, or by private for-profit companies.
The prize reached $1.5 million (USD) in August 2005, $3 million in November 2005, and $4 million in December 2006.
Prize structure and current record holders
The foundation currently awards the following two prizes:- A longevityLongevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
prize for extending total lifespan - A rejuvenationRejuvenation (aging)Rejuvenation is the hypothetical reversal of the aging process.Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes in order to slow aging...
prize focusing on intervention begun at older age
Whenever a record is broken, the researcher receives an amount based on the current size of the prize and the percentage by which they exceed the previously held record.
The longevity prize allows any type of intervention, including breeding
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
and genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
; only a single mouse has to be presented. , the record holder is a mouse whose growth hormone
Growth hormone
Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
receptor had been genetically knocked out
Knockout mouse
A knockout mouse is a genetically engineered mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out," an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA...
; it lived for 1819 days (almost 5 years).
The rejuvenation prize deals with peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
studies involving at least 40 animals, 20 treated and 20 control. Treatment may begin only at mid-life, and the average lifespan of the 10% longest living treated animals is used for the record. , this record stands at 1356 days (about 3.7 years); the treatment was calorie restriction
Calorie restriction
Caloric restriction , or calorie restriction, is a dietary regimen that restricts calorie intake, where the baseline for the restriction varies, usually being the previous, unrestricted, intake of the subjects...
.
Until November 2004, the foundation ran a reversal prize instead of the rejuvenation prize, with the following rules: the treatment of the mouse could be started at any age, and days before treatment had started were counted double. The winner was a mouse that did not receive any dietary or pharmacological treatment at all, just an enriched environment. The mouse lived for 1551 days (about 4.2 years).
MLife Sciences
MLife Sciences is an umbrella concept for various collaborative projects in which the Methuselah Foundation participates. One of them involves Organovo, Inc., a regenerative medicine company, with whom the Methuselah Foundation aims to be able to three-dimensionally print new organs and tissues from the patient's DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
.
Undergraduate Research Initiative
First proposed in April 2008, The Methuselah Foundation Undergraduate Research Initiative (MFURI)provided undergraduate college students in any academic discipline with the knowledge and logistical support to develop projects which contribute to the advocacy or support of the Methuselah Foundation or its mission of radically extending healthy human life. The MFURI provided students within the United States education system with the opportunity to receive college credits, scholarships, and recommendations for their efforts. Students from other countries were eligible to apply for many of the available scholarships. The MFURI project was administered by a team of volunteer supervisors and coordinators and received scholarship funding from the Methuselah Foundation. As of March 2009, MFURI has stopped under the Methuselah Foundation's supervision and moved to SENS Foundation
SENS Foundation
The SENS Foundation is a non-profit organization co-founded by Michael Kope, Aubrey de Grey, Jeff Hall, Sarah Marr and Kevin Perrott, which is based in California, United States. Its activities include SENS-based research programs and public relations work for the acceptance of and interest in...
, where it goes under the name of "the undergraduate component of the SENS Foundation's Academic Initiative."
Staff
The staff of the Methuselah Foundation:- David GobelDavid GobelDavid Gobel is an American author, CEO, entrepreneur, inventor, and futurist.-Career:David Gobel is Chief Executive Officer of the . Working with Dr. Aubrey de Grey, he founded the original non-profit in 2000 which became the Methuselah Foundation, in an effort to reverse or preempt the damage of...
, Chief Executive Officer - Roger Holzberg, Chief Marketing Officer / Creative Director
- Andrej Bartke, Co-chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mprize
- Craig Cooney, Co-chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mprize
Donors and volunteers
On September 16, 2006, Peter ThielPeter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
, co-founder and former CEO of the online payments system PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
, announced that he is pledging $3.5 million to the Methuselah Foundation "to support scientific research into the alleviation and eventual reversal of the debilities caused by aging" (SENS research).
Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo is an American professional poker player who was a sponsored member of Team Bodog until January 2010. -Poker:...
, professional poker player, has pledged 5% of his tournament winnings for SENS research.