4 replies to this topic

[AgeVivo]

Hello,

 

1. on Facebook, the boards of the International Longevity Alliance and the Longevity Party have decided to jointly try to fund a major mouse testing program: a very serious research project where potential life extending interventions in humans would be tested in mice. http://longevityalli...ng-program.aspx

 

2. we have started to build teams of volunteers: http://longevityalli...d-Subteams.aspx

For now there are 3 teams:

-- Presentations // to explain the project in different formats (eg to the public community, but also to seek funds for the project)

-- What to Test // to list the most potential things to test in mice

-- Funding // to get funding.

The logistics [where to do it, with what research institutions] is currently being done by the boards, but it should soon also be another team, depending on the skills and desires of volunteers.

 

3. I was wondering if you wished to join and if longeCity wished to join? // I would need to ask the boards but I am pretty sure that it would be perfectly well accepted.

 

Let me know, Cheers!

Edited by AgeVivo, 01 September 2014 - 01:09 PM.

[kmoody]

A few thoughts...

 

This is a noble effort, but we need to approach something of this scale with caution. I contacted Edouard when he successfully raised crowd-funding for his ongoing mouse study. He did not seem keen on articulating how he could afford to do any analytical endpoints (other than lifespan) with his shoestring budget. He also did not provide statistical data about his ability to detect effect sizes in any of his proposals, though to be fair I did not specifically ask. I note that none of the proposed teams critique experimental design, and I think that should be squared away before presentation and funding teams are established. Of course, I would be happy to play an advisory role in ensuring these important details are tended to, to the extent that I am permitted under my contractual obligations.

 

As we want to establish a more sophisticated and professional outward image for Longecity (I presume), I think we would do ourselves a service by conducting at least some level of diligence on a complete proposal before we aggressively engage our outreach efforts and bandwidth. If there are shortcomings in the plan based on financial realities that can be acceptable, but I would like to know that areas are being intentionally neglected to accommodate the realities of available resources, rather than being unintentionally neglected because of ignorance.

 

These are just my observations as an outsider. Given your level of expertise in this space AgeVivo, I suspect you've done a fair amount of diligence already through your interactions with this group. Could you share some of your observations so far so we can better evaluate what is being proposed and how we might help? Is there any working document where the details of the research are being worked out? I would love to weigh in and lend whatever support I can. This is very cool stuff!

Edited by kmoody, 02 September 2014 - 05:41 PM.

[Mind]

A bold effort...$30 million! I know Edouard is very smart, capable and passionate, but I would need more information about where the study would take place and who would do the research, before lending more support.

 

From my limited fairly non-scientific perspective, testing "compounds" in mice has not proven very fruitful for humans....despite decades of research. I would be more supportive of testing SENS-type (engineering) interventions in mice.

[AgeVivo]

Hello, I am currently strongly struggling with time so I will answer very shortly now: after having investigated "where"/"who" would do the research, it seems that such is not an issue as pretty much everyone in the field (Spindler.SR, Harrisson.DE, etc) would be happy to do it... if we have the money. So the issue is of course funding. In the USA, the Mouse Aging Research Consortium had tried to do such a major mouse testing program a few years ago without finding funding. Right now, we are in contact with Alan Richardson, as advised by Aubrey, and with Mousera.com, in order to analyse a large range of health parameters in addition to lifespan. Beware that such should preferably not go public wildly until things are discussed with them in details and presentations done, as there is always some competition in a field with rare financial resources. Also, "where and with whom" will necessarily depending on funding constraints as for example our first insights of funding sources would be for labs in Europe or Asia, or Ireland specifically (!)...

 

There is an online meeting tomorrow (Sunday September 7th 2014) at 6 pm GMT, or perhaps slightly later, if you are interested to join that meeting in order to see you can contact e*d/e:b!o,n.n§e%u*i$l£@&y,a;h:o!o/./f,r

Edited by AgeVivo, 06 September 2014 - 07:52 AM.

[caliban]

I think you are right that the 'where' is less important when you have the money, but why that the 'big programme' approach to various compounds when you can rely on groups to pick their own candidates?  

 

For LongeCity, doing them one after the other would be more manageable. Have you talked with the M-Prize? 

 

What the research community really suffers from is the fact that aged mice are so expensive.

A fund could either support a resource that competes with existing suppliers or give a basic subsidy to all eligible aged-mouse studies.