The vision of the Methuselah Foundation belongs to a gentler future and it truly is a vision as today the reality of age-related disease is grim indeed. It is therefore always a great pleasure to share this vision and our confidence that it can be realized with others who have already seen their own vision and successfully brought it forward. Brian Cartmell is one such individual whose support we warmly welcome and whose hope we share. We are working hard to justify his help. From our latest press release:

The Methuselah Foundation is pleased to announce a generous $100,000 donation from serial internet entrepreneur Brian Cartmell. Mr. Cartmell founded eNIC, a domain registry company which grew to over half a million subscribers. The success of eNIC under Cartmell's leadership led to its $35 Million acquisition in 2001 by Verisign. He then founded Spam Arrest, developing and patenting a novel challenge/response process for stopping unwanted email.

Mr. Cartmell commented, "It's my privilege to be able to financially contribute to the continued and successful operation of The Methuselah Foundation. Too often, people dismiss researchers such as Dr. Aubrey de Grey for engaging in what they consider pie-in-the-sky science, but it's my opinion that Dr. de Grey encourages a creative and intelligent approach towards alleviating the suffering that unnecessarily accompanies the aging process. By focusing research on the damage that occurs at the cellular and molecular levels, the scientists involved with The Methuselah Foundation can potentially offer radical new solutions to our current litany of age-related physical and mental dysfunctions - and I like radical!"

You can read the full release here.

Posted by at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Ben Zealley is the newest member of the Methuselah Foundation's scientific team, having joined this summer after completing his degree at Cambridge. He will be working with Dr. de Grey and Michael Rae to expand SENS and develop potential avenues of research. "I have been interested in the human aging process - and Dr. de Grey's approach to it - for many years, so I'm very much looking forward to being able to work full-time on SENS at last. I'm particularly interested in therapies with rapidly-visible or immediate benefits, since these will be instrumental in swaying public opinion towards the concept of aging as a disease open to effective treatment. Once that's been achieved, the battle will be halfway won!"

Welcome aboard! We're all pleased to see more researchers joining the SENS team as the Foundation continues to grow.

Posted by Reason at 01:04 AM | Permalink

Lorton, VA - The Methuselah Foundation is pleased to announce a new Mprize competitor: Mrs. Elise Sacane, co-founder of Neural Learning Systems of Tucson, Arizona and a retired science teacher. The Mprize, a scientific research prize aimed at encouraging scientists to find a way to reverse the aging process, is a primary activity of the Methuselah Foundation. The Mprize fund continues to grow and currently stands at close to $4.5 Million. Prizes will be awarded to research groups that can most successfully extend the life span of laboratory mice.

Neural Learning Systems is a partnership established by Mrs. Sacane and her husband, corporate executive Louis "Jim" Sacane. The focus of Mrs. Sacane's research and development will be on the evaluation of the synergistic effects of fresh food diets, enriched housing and exposure to microbes on the behavioral aspects, life and health spans of wild type mice (Mus musculus).

Mrs. Sacane is enterprising by nature. In her 20s, she was granted a U.S. Patent. She then founded and managed a manufacturing company for ten years. She sold the company to concentrate on home school teaching her son, Jay, who has since gone to Harvard. Other home school students whom Elise taught are enrolled at Cal Tech and the US Naval Academy. She taught Biology, Physics, Earth Science and Calculus. Her interest in aging and the Mprize developed from a few key events:

1. While studying Aplysia, a member of the sea slug family used by neurologists in brain research, she read of Dr. Bruce Ames's research. Elise wondered if Ames's anti-aging supplements (lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine) might improve nerve function in general, possibly even in Aplysia. Elise and Jay developed a palatable artificial diet to suit the unusual needs of Aplysia and deliver supplements.

2. With her interest in anti-aging and the role of supplements kindled, Elise was also intrigued by the way bacteria facilitate the absorption of various food-derived nutrients.

3. Because her husband works in the aerospace industry, the Sacanes are familiar with the X PRIZE(r), after which the Mprize is modeled. Jim remarked, "What is exciting about being part of the Methuselah Foundation's endeavors is that the Mprize is a catalyst for personal innovation and inspiration and these are the true fundamental elements of great discoveries."

Elise commented, "My hopes in entering the Mprize competition are to demonstrate several important factors which will complement healthy mice behavior, deliver a variety of important, synergistic nutrients to them and favorably affect their life and health spans. The Mprize certainly presents one of the most exciting quests of our time."

About the Methuselah Foundation

The Methuselah Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to accelerating the development of foreseeable, science-based therapies to combat aging. Its main activities are the funding of SENS research, and the Methuselah Mouse Prize, which is being offered to the scientific research teams that significantly extend the lifespan of middle-aged laboratory mice. Further details of the Methuselah Foundation can be found at: www.methuselahfoundation.org

About Neural Learning Systems (NLS)

NLS is a new, private company devoted to researching the synergistic effects of neural enhancement. Originally established in California, NLS currently operates in Tucson, Arizona.

Posted by Reason at 10:40 PM | Permalink