WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Methuselah Foundation is proud to announce a landmark debate between two pioneering scientists on not just how, but when, science will reverse the aging process -- hosted by the AAAS and funded by the Alliance for Aging Research.
In a November 5th debate at the American Association for Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Ave, 11 AM, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, University of Cambridge, will discuss the very real possibility of a modern day medical fountain-of-youth with Dr. Richard Sprott, Executive Director of the Ellison Medical Foundation. Dr. de Grey is a Pioneering Biogerentologist, the Senior Science Advisor to the Methuselah foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology and the American Aging Association.
These two leading biogerontologists will debate the implications of recent advances in aging and anti-aging research, and set forth a timeline for reversal of aging and its associated diseases. Morton Kondracke, Executive Editor of Roll Call and author of Saving Milly, a personal chronicle of his wife's battle with Parkinson's disease, will moderate.
De Grey is co-founder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize, a privately funded incentive program designed to stimulate serious anti-aging research and interventions leading to aging so slow it is not measurable. "The Methuselah Mouse Prize is meant to inspire and encourage serious scientific progress and innovation in extending the health human lifespan," says David Gobel, President of The Methuselah Foundation.
The Methuselah Foundation is offering a series of prizes to the research team that produces the world's oldest mouse. The first prize was awarded in June 2003 to Andrezj Bartke, whose genetic research produced a mouse that lived 5 years, or 180-200 years in human terms. Future award recipients must surpass this goalpost by extending the normal healthy lifespan of a mouse. Beginning next year, an additional prize will also be awarded to the team that extends life by effectively reversing the aging process.
Incentive prizes such as this one have been used throughout history to drive scientists to accomplish the impossible, from the Longitude prize of 1714 for finding longitude at sea, to the Orteig Prize that moved Lindbergh to fly the Atlantic, to the modern day "X Prize" for private space transportation. And they often produce results in unexpectedly short time frames. Says Dr. Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X Prize, "I fully expect a similar outcome awaits the Methuselah Foundation and its prize to extend the healthy adult lifespan."
Currently, four teams have registered for the Methuselah Mouse Prize. Rich Miller's research focuses on wild mice, which live considerably longer than mice bred in captivity, to determine how these mice differ genetically from captive mice. Rick Weindruch is examining how caloric restriction can reduce the aging process. Christian Sell is researching how reduced levels of a protein that promotes cell division can lead to longer life spans. Dr. Richard Cutler is investigating how to regulate the genes that control "oxidative stress," or the extent to which cells are bombarded by free-radicals, known to be a cause of aging and disease.
For more information on the Methuselah Mouse Prize, the upcoming AAAS debate, or sponsorship of the Methuselah Foundation, contact David Gobel at (202)306-0989 or david.gobel@methuselahmouse.org. or visit www.methuselahmouse.org on the internet.