79 replies to this topic

[reason]

One is a Postdoc in Philosophy at Oxford no less (sorry Cambridge :-)

Have them wamp up some fliers to say "Oxford Beats Out Cambridge In New Research Prize Donations" - and post them on the Cambridge campus / on their network.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[Da55id]

The Xprize has agreed to do a mailing to their members about the Methuselah Mouse Prize and the tote board. Do you have any thoughts folks on what would be the best 50 - 75 words we could say to them? Recent contributor shared his reason for making his donation (which I've modified somewhat)...what do you think of this as a starting point?
----------with apologies to Nick...
One day a cure for aging will be found. At that point, the question
will arise, could we not have made this happen sooner? Why did hundreds of
millions of people have to die prematurely and unnecessarily? We're the Methuselah Foundation, and we're looking for like minded folks who don't want
to be among those who did nothing. Who want to among the people who had
enough vision and who cared enough about the future to try to make at least
a small contribution to The Methuselah Prize. We're where the XPrize was in 1996 - over 100 people have made medium to small contributions to a prize which is now receiving over $2,000 a week. Please accept our invitation to visit us at http://www.methuselahmouse.org (where the tote board would be) and get in on the ground floor of this epochally important initiative.

[kevin]

This may not be an improvement, but here it is anyways..
---------------------------------------------
One day a cure for ageing will be found.

What will only remain after, are the questions future generations will have as they look back upon this time, and wonder how many more lives may have been saved if we hadn't dragged our feet when the tools for conquering our ancient foe became available.

We at the Methuselah Foundation will not be among those who did nothing.

We are looking for like minded individuals who want to place their name at the forefront of the coming push for healthy extended lifepans by making a small contribution to the Methuselah Mouse Prize.

We're where the XPrize was in 1996 - over 100 people have made medium to small contributions to a prize which is now receiving over $2,000 a week. Please accept our invitation to visit us at http://www.methuselahmouse.org (where the tote board would be) and get in on the ground floor of this epochally important initiative.

[reason]

Revision the next:

One day a cure for ageing will be found. That day could be in your lifetime.

In times to come, future generations will look back and wonder how many more lives might have been saved if we hadn't dragged our feet when the tools to conquer death and the crippling effects of aging first became available.

We at the Methuselah Foundation will not be among those who did nothing.

We are looking for like minded individuals who want to place their name at the forefront of the coming push for extended healthy lifespans by making a small contribution to the Methuselah Mouse Prize. Step up and help to fight aging and degenerative disease to a standstill!

We are now where the XPrize was in 1996. More than 100 people have made moderate and modest contributions to a prize that is now receiving over $2,000 a week. Please accept our invitation to visit us:

http://www.methuselahmouse.org

Join us on the ground floor of this important initiative for the new epoch. One day, a cure for aging will be found. You can help to make that day come sooner, and come within your lifetime.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[kevin]

heh.. 50-75 words.. I don't think we can do that..

I like your revision reason..

[reason]

Ok, on the limit:

---

A cure for aging will be found.

Will we later look back and wonder how many more might have been saved? The Methuselah Foundation will not be among those who did nothing. You can help science fight aging and degenerative disease to a standstill!

We are now where the XPrize was in 1996: over 100 contributers to a prize now receiving over $2,000 a week. Join us to bring a cure for aging closer:

http://www.methuselahmouse.org

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[Bruce Klein]

this ones a bit more popular in taste... but thought i'd share.

---

Dear ....,

Can aging be cured in your lifetime? - Yes!

Can you do something to help now? - Yes!    

Just as Polio was cured by the March of Dimes, the Methuselah Mouse Prize aims to eliminate the disease of aging from the face of the earth.

People like you have already started to contribute toward this cause. However, we need your help in order to support researchers and to save more lives

Help us win this fight!

If not for yourself, consider your family and future generations. Please follow this link for more information: http://www.methuselahmouse.org

[Da55id]

I like all of these. I'm sure we'll end up using them in different mailings. BJ, perhaps we should put your quicky as the header to the MM website. Nice impact.

[reason]

Yes, I like that one from Bruce - much more personable.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[Bruce Klein]

BJ, perhaps we should put your quicky as the header to the MM website.

Feel free. Thanks.

[Da55id]

I think you'll all be glad to know that William A. Hazeltine, Founder of Human Genome Sciences and promoter of Rejuvenative Medicine has donated the nice sum of $1,000 to the Methuselah Mouse Prize to be applied 50% to the postponement prize and 50% to the Reversal Prize (first year scheme = yes)

I'm really happy that he wants his name listed since his is one of the highest profile names in the genomics biotech field - having his name associated with the prize and all our mutual efforts is quite an honor and boost.

BJ - Reason, Do you think this is worthy of a "front page" announcement? Reason - do you want LongevityMeme to have a news exclusive on this?

Cheers,
Dave

[Da55id]

oops - that's Haseltine.

[reason]

Very good news Now we can bug/cold call all of his contemporaries for money No exclusive is necessary - it should be posted far and wide.

What you (/Aaron) need to do is (if this isn't up anywhere else) put up a nice-looking page on the methuselah mouse site I can link to with three or four paragraphs of blurb about the donation, this guy, how amazing and wonderful and influential he is -- and I can run with it from there. But I do need that page to link to.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[Bruce Klein]

Following in this line of thinking, a supporters list page may be useful in putting a face to a name.. Example: http://imminst.org/p.../ProImmortality

When we're ready with Haseltine, I'll post this as an announcement.

[Da55id]

Here's what I sent to the X Prize for inclusion in their email (presuming they approve of it).
-----------------------------------------------
A special message from Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X Prize

In 1995 the X Prize started with no competitors and $5,000 seed money. Today, after only 7 years, we are on the verge of achievement. I fully expect a similar outcome awaits the Methuselah Foundation’s prize to reverse human aging. That is why I have decided to personally support this foundation's vision to help our lifespans achieve "escape velocity"!

Can aging be cured in your lifetime? - Yes! Can you do something to help now? - Yes!

Please follow this link for more information: http://www.methuselahmouse.org and consider how small donations from thousands of people can make it happen.

[kevin]

An endorsement with a link is particularly useful...

Endorsements provide more 'interest' as people will want to know why someone they respect is supporting a cause. No amount of self-promotion can replace the positive opinion of a respected third party.

[Da55id]

FYI, Here's the final approved text will be added to the mid-Dec X Prize emailing -

X PRIZE Motivates new Prize to Reverse Human Aging:

Recently a friend and leader in the biomedical arena established a organization called the Methuselah Foundation which is offering a prize to reverse human aging. T'his effort was motivated in part by the X PRIZE and our success. In 1995 the X PRIZE started with no competitors and $5,000 seed money. Today, after only 7 years, we are on the verge of success. Prizes can motivate amazing outcomes. It's for this reason that we're excited to see the creation of the Methuselah Foundation and support their vision to help our lifespans achieve "escape velocity"!

You too can help support this effort and participate, as you have with the X PRIZE. Please follow this link for more information: http://www.methuselahmouse.org and consider how small donations from thousands of people can make it happen.

[reason]

This X Prize endorsement also needs to end up on a web page somewhere so we can link to it and make more noise about it...

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[kevin]

perhaps on the X-Prize Page?

[Da55id]

Once their email is released, I'll ask Aaron to post it on our site and it can be linked to from there. I'm focusing on Haseltine for our site at the moment.
Good ideas.

dg

[Da55id]

Hi Team,

We've gotten almost $5,000 in donations in the last 4 days on our trek to hit or exceed $50,000 in the next three weeks before the end of 2003!

We only need about $9,000 in new contributions to make it. If you've ever wanted to jump on a bandwagon, NOWS the time

Dave

[Bruce Klein]

Great news!

Thanks for keeping us to date Dave.

[kevin]

Hello all,

Its pretty exciting to see the Prize growing. Its a great feeling to feel that even if I can't be in every lab that is doing productive research on aging that I can help open the door to acheiving a higher awareness and get more funds funneled into healthy life-extension.

If you've been thinking about being able to live a lot longer than your body now wants and have some spare change, or spare dollars, you can help everyone buy a ticket on the immortality train.

We need to bump up the value of the Prize as quickly as possible so that we can attract even more heavy hitters like Bill Haseltine and Ray Kurzweil. Hitting 50,000 by year end will greatly enhance the credibility of the Prize and require people to take the idea of age reversal much more seriously.

You have an opportunity to join in the vision of a world without aging at the outset. Its not a question of if aging can be cured, but 'when'. You can help make that day arrive sooner and perhaps in the process, save your own.

Please consider making a donation to the Prize today. You can do monthly contributions, a challenge grant, or a one time donation.

http://www.methuselahmouse.org

[kevin]

The X-Prize is now featuring a link to the Methuselah Mouse Prize in their announcments section on their front page... http://www.xprize.com/

[tobithus]

Highly exciting news. Normality here I come! (Just being provocative! :-) )

I'm just sceptical as to whether:

1) This prize and the related projects will get enough publicity
2) They will result in a treatment that STOPS or REVERSES aging
3) Whether the "little people" will see the fruits of any projects anyway

Feel free to effectively prove me wrong

[reason]

Highly exciting news. Normality here I come! (Just being provocative! :-) )

I'm just sceptical as to whether:

1) This prize and the related projects will get enough publicity
2) They will result in a treatment that STOPS or REVERSES aging
3) Whether the "little people" will see the fruits of any projects anyway

Feel free to effectively prove me wrong

I anticipate that the prize will do at least as well as the X Prize; it's actually growing faster than the X Prize did initially. So that's your benchmark.

The little people never see the first use of anything new. That's not a good reason to stop development of new technology. The little people get to use version 5, 10 years later: 10 times cheaper, 10 times more reliable. That's the way development works.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[kevin]

Certainly, we can be skeptical that the treatments developed will actually be able to do anything about aging in humans. The fact of the matter is however, we do age and we don't like it at all. Add to this the fact that there are some very tantalizing clues that aging may not be as intractable to science as previously thought... just check out the many threads in these forums regarding recent discoveries involving gene and stem cell therapy and caloric restriction.

It is alright to be skeptical... but given the possibilities that are being illustrated daily in science.... that the foreseeable of control of aging is probable within the next two decades, faster if we push it... you might consider the following scenario..

If you and a group of your friends are in a tunnel and you realize that a train is is certain to hit and kill you all and you suddenly see a flash of light that may be a possible escape... would you just say..

"Ahh. It was just a little flash of light.. much to little to consider.. We should stay right here. "... ?

I don't think so..

As for publicity.. we are certainly getting plenty of exposure and more to come as the prize builds...

Maybe you might see a flash of light in the Prize... perhaps enough to warrant supporting it yourself?

[Da55id]

1) Will the prize get "enough" publicity? YES.

The X Prize's leading candidate to win the prize just did a test where the craft went supersonic in testing...and the X Prize will likely be won in either '04 or '05 (our math model predicts '05).

My point? Almost nobody you talk to on the street will have heard of the X Prize...BUT, enough of the right people have. Before the prize NObody was privately trying to get to space...after the prize 26 teams are trying to...appx 7 truly credible efforts.

[Da55id]

2) Will it lead to stopping of reversing aging?

Well designed prizes have a 100% track record...100%...even in doing what was considered impossible at the time. Is aging impossible to reverse? NO. We are already doing it at the macro scale. My mother would likely be dead today except that she's had her macro aging reversed. 3 Cancers repaired...a knee replacement. It's a losing battle today not because we can't reverse ANY of her aging...we already are doing that...we just don't do it at the mini, micro or nano level yet.

We will.

The prize will make it happen sooner without the slightest doubt. We've already had an effect on the scientific conversation...we've already had an effect on the public conversation - out of all proportion to the tiny monetary size of the current prize fund. But it is growing.

Literally the faster it grows, the faster it goes.

When the prize passes $50,000 it will interest another group a bit less on the "fringe"...when it gets to $100,000 it will become attractive to independent researchers and private self-styled scientists who want the money...when it hits $250,000 researchers from the nanotech world will become very interested...when it hits a million, governements will pay attention...

and since no money ever comes out of the prize until it's won-it will only grow. slow or fast - it's up to you and me.

[Da55id]

3) The use of a prize as the way of breathing this into existence virtually guarantees that there will be at least THREE viable approaches to solving this problem...since there will be multiple teams chasing the prize...which acts as a deadline that you can't argue with...or even know where it is...first one across the finish line wins...so EVERY competitor will go "hell bent for leather" to win.

With multiple viable methodologies...you get instantaneous competition and no monopolies...

Reversal of aging is only amazing in our minds. Once it is done it will be mundane. Humans first flew 100 years ago yesterday...for the first 40 years of aviation it was amazing and somewhat expensive...then it was accessable to the middle class...now - it's a bus trip.