Register | Forgot Your Password?
 

Overview

What is the Mprize?

The Mprize competition is an exciting and viable mid-term strategy to deliver on the Methuselah Foundation's mission of extending healthy human life. It directly accelerates the development of revolutionary new life extension therapies by awarding two cash prizes: one to the research team that breaks the world record for the oldest-ever mouse; and one to the team that develops the most successful late-onset rejuvenation. Previous winners have already proven that healthy life can be extended; each new winner pushes the outer limits of healthy life back even further...and each new winner takes us even further.

Why Prizes?

A well-designed prize is the ONLY method that has shown to be 100% successful in turning the impossible into a near-term reality. Prizes make this kind of ground-breaking change achievable by:

  • Encouraging new levels of excellence and specific innovations in uncharted territory
  • Expanding society's perceptions of what is possible
  • Attracting high levels of investments, donations, and resources
  • Dramatically increasing the pool of potential solvers by marshalling the most diverse possible group of talent, approaches, and techniques

By throwing out all previous assumptions about aging and offering scientists and researchers a huge (and ever-increasing!) cash prize incentive, the Mprize is guaranteed to create revolutionary solutions...quite possibly within our lifetimes.

A History of Science Prizes

Why Mice?

Mice are genetically similar to humans. They are small and inexpensive to maintain so studying large quantities is feasible. Their short lifespan, about three years, makes it possible to see if interventions result in longer, healthier lives – all in time to be of benefit to our own lives.

Mice are widely considered to be the prime model of inherited human disease and studies have shown that mice share 99% of their genes with humans. The similarities between sections of human and mouse DNA allow researchers working with mouse genes to make incredibly accurate predictions about the location and function of their human counterparts. Mice have been the mainstay of laboratory research on human illness and longevity.

The species Mus musculus is used in the laboratory for experimental work, including the biology of aging. Their long history of captivity has resulted in strong selection for rapid growth and breeding and has resulted in a wide variation in lifespan between different (inbred) laboratory strains. Most useful studies of lifespan are done on strains with a relatively long lifespan. The one most often used is "C57Bl/6", which normally lives about three years without any life-extending intervention.

What You Can Do

What do the end of famine, the discovery of longitude, and private space travel have in common? Each of these world-changing innovations was created by an inventor seeking to win a prize. The Mprize is a multi-million dollar prize to end the diseases of aging. Right now, brilliant minds all around the world are competing for this prize. Your support will help them get there faster.


Competitor Craig Cooney

I am working on a paper right now for a study I just completed in competition for the MPrize. I am also doing grant applications for new studies; it takes many years. If I have a new idea today for a breakthrough in mouse lifespan, the results could easily be 10 years off.

My work involves epigenetics, changes in appearance or gene expression that do not change the underlying DNA. We hope to find ways to maintain cells for decades, avoiding the breakdown that we see now in aging. This dysfunction may cause skin or liver cells to stop doing their job and, just like a very elderly person, they are unable to contribute. We need to understand these mechanisms and combine different approaches - genetics, diet, drugs - to begin to see real changes in longevity and long term health.

Read More »