Want to be Rich and Famous?
By James Swayze
(Please refer to the printed edition for illustrations)
Well if you are a scientist or researcher in the field of or related fields of anti-aging medicine then you could very well soon be. In the tradition of the "Orteig prize,1" the $25,000 prize that Charles Lindbergh won for being the first pilot to successfully complete a transatlantic flight from the US to Europe, we now have the "Methuselah Mouse Prize2" . The MMP will be awarded for producing the longest-lived laboratory mouse by utilization of the fruits of research within the related fields of study around anti-aging medicine.
Another and more recent prize meant to promote advancements in science and technology is the $10 million "XPrize"3 for the purpose of spurring competition and interest both public and corporate for private non governmental manned space flight. The reader may well have seen the XPrize spoke of recently on national news with the story that Burt Rutan of "Voyager" fame is about to test fly his own design into space to win the XPrize. [Fig. 1 ref, 4]
Voyager flew round the world on one tank of gas, piloted by Chuck Yeager's daughter and Rutan's brother. These kinds of prize's can go a long way in promoting growth in science and industry. Raymond Orteig is indirectly responsible for a great number of leaps in early Aviation technology for having offered his prize.
An amount of money as large as $25,000 in the early part of the 20th century was a lot of money for an individual. At the time many saw it as a pathway to greater riches.
It went far beyond just the prize money itself. Fame would take the person a long way too. The fame alone was sought after by larger entities for which a sum such as $25,000 was not so great an amount of money. However, for such an entity the advertising value alone of being attached to such a prize and prize winner so publicly scrutinized would be enormous. Such free advertising would help greatly to generate sales for any company thus involved.
I cannot say if Orteig and his associates were interested in generating general public interest outside of aviation circles. Perhaps they just wished to see the feat accomplished sooner than the pace of aviation development at the time would have allowed so that transatlantic travel would soon become faster and cheaper than by ship. He no doubt knew that within aviation circles quite a lot of interest would be generated in winning the prize.
If only he had had the Internet for the availability of a cheap and highly effective way to involve the public in sharing in the growth of the prize. Who knows where that might have led? The Xprize has had the benefit of the Internet for generating general public interest.
The creator of the Xprize, Peter Diamandis, did also wisely employ the Internet for the possibility of growing the prize by public sponsorship.
The Methuselah Mouse Prize will also have such opportunities, public interest generation and public support of the purse. Public donations will allow the MMP to possibly accrue to a considerable sum by the time it gets won. [See below for details on donating – be a part of supporting the quest for cures to aging] This humble reporter is proud to announce making his own very small donation to the MMP.
The Methuselah Mouse Prize is the brainchild of renowned scientist and anti-aging medicine researcher Aubrey de Grey. Aubrey and his colleagues can see great strides possible for the near future for the field of anti-aging medicine. In his own words Aubrey explains the impetus for the MMP.
"The prevailing view of the general public is that, despite much-publicised progress in certain areas, we still have no real chance of greatly extending human longevity within the lifetime of anyone alive today. This view may be over pessimistic. If so, the best way to correct it is to show that the longevity of a laboratory mammal can be greatly increased. This will be especially effective in raising public optimism and interest if the life-extending interventions are only implemented when the mouse has already reached an advanced age, and the prize is partly geared to encouraging such "late-onset" interventions."
The MMP is actually two prizes in one [see the website listed below for details]2. This is because there are two methods to achieve the same goal. Both have their own unique merit.
For one there will be methods to raise a mouse from birth to death within a certain regimen designed to maximize the mouse’s health and longevity over the entire life span of the mouse. Then also there will be the possibility, hopefully, of rejuvenating a mouse back to youthful health and vigor that is already aged or advanced in aging.
This relates to the eventual hoped for human factor in this research in the Fig. 3following ways. We certainly want to learn how to live from birth to death in a manner such that will maximize youthful vigor over our entire life but we also want to extend that life as long as possible.
This alone will be a wonderful legacy to leave for our collective progeny but what about those of us living now? No doubt many of us living now and faced already with advancing age would like to continue so and if possible even return to the health and vigor of our youth.
Until recently these kinds of hopes and desires resided solely within the realms of myth and science fiction. We at this magazine strongly feel that extreme in length and perpetually youthful life spans are even now within the realm of reasoned expectation through our own human efforts of invention and hard work. We intend to explore these possibilities and support the efforts of those that are hard at work turning science fiction into science fact.
Cryonics is the only method we now have to ensure that we might be able enjoy the fruits of technologies now only in the fledgling stages. However, cryonics is not yet widely accepted. As Aubrey says above people don’t see the future as applying to them. But if they could be allowed to believe that several more youthful and healthful years could be added to their lives then they could not help seeing that they themselves will be on hand to see that more of what is only fiction today is fact tomorrow.
They will then begin to see that cryonics has a better chance than they now give it and would apply for it as backup insurance against unexpected illness and death. Such insurance may well grant them passage into a future so wonderful as to be beyond expectation. We therefore invite and implore our readership to get involved. Not only that but get others involved. Tell your friends about this new and exciting opportunity to shape our future! Spread the exciting news that humanity’s oldest and deepest held dream is even now truly within our grasp!
Watch very closely the works and rhetoric of those that would pass laws to hinder life-affirming life extending research efforts. Tell your representa-tives to not allow human endeavor to be stifled by shortsightedness.
Question the efforts of those that would stifle these efforts to reach our loftiest goals and ask the question, ‘Whose power base stands to lose if humanity no longer need fear death?’ If you can please support research financially – stay informed and get involved – read our magazine for details as to which research to support.
A GREAT PLACE TO BEGIN:
Please go here to support the Methuselah Mouse Prize http://www.methuselahmouse.org
:Methuselah Foundation, 9131 Stone Garden Drive, Lorton, VA 22079, USA
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References:
1[http://www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/orteig.asp]
2[http://www.methuselahmouse.org]
3[http://www.xprize.com/]
4[http://www.xprize.com/images/gallery/scaled_wkss1_lg.jpg]
5[http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/GENERAL_AVIATION/rutan/GA15G1.jpg]
6[http://www.charleslindbergh.com/images/LindberghCharlesSP41.jpg]
7[http://www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/p2.gif]
8[http://www.charleslindbergh.com/pics/air1.jpg]
9[http://www.xprize.com/images/gallery/xpart_1_lg.jpg]