According to investigations conducted at the non-profit Buck Institute, it might be possible to extend the life of humans by as much as 15 percent.
This startling finding comes from research conducted at Mount Tam Biotechnologies, a research institute located on the campus of Buck, located in Northern California.
The Buck Institute was the first institute in the world to conduct research on aging, and it is now the world’s foremost institution investigating the new scientific study known as geroprotection. Scientists no longer use the terminology “life extension” and prefer “geroprotection” because of the association the former term has with health fads and pseudoscience. It should also be made clear that geroprotection science does not seek to prolong the frail and ill phase of life, but rather to extend the healthy portion, or the health span, for as long as possible.
Until recently scientists did not think the key to health span extension could be achieved with simple drugs, but based on the latest research, they are changing their minds.
The key to health span extension is a drug called rapamycin, which the Buck Institute has significant legal rights to. The Buck Institute has licensed those rights to Mount Tam Biotechnologies.
The studies have shown that when mice have rapamycin added to their diets, they live an average of 15 percent longer than mice fed regular diets. Researchers have also seen that even old mice benefit from rapamycin, showing the traits of younger specimens. Their health spans were also increased, although a bit less than in the younger mice treated with the drug.
Rapamycin, and its analogs, are now being readied for approval by the FDA.
