The MPrize: Results Oriented, Method Agnostic
Here is a simple truth for today: if you want results, don't limit those people who are doing their best to produce results. The most limiting thing in your world is the boundary defined by what you can conceive, what you know, and how you take action. There are billions of people out there in the world who live and strive beyond that boundary - why would you want to eliminate their efforts before even knowing how well they can do?
This is why the terms of the MPrize contest for longevity research have much to say about the winning results, and very little to say about how those results are obtained. Narrowing the eligibility of competitors - beyond the requirement to demonstrate scientific standards of proof in results - would be to impose the limitations of the Methuselah Foundation team upon the competition. Such is a recipe for failure, no matter how many millions of dollars are in the prize purse!
Unfettered innovation, competition and reward are the seeds of progress. They must be nurtured, for our future health and longevity depends upon their growth.