Editing Maximum life span (section)

==Increasing maximum life span==
{{Main|Life extension}}
"Maximum life span" here means the mean life span of the most long-lived 10% of a given cohort. Caloric restriction has not yet been shown to break mammalian world records for longevity. [[Rat]]s, [[mouse|mice]], and [[hamster]]s experience maximum life-span extension from a diet that contains all of the nutrients but only 40–60% of the calories that the animals consume when they can eat as much as they want. [[Mean life span]] is increased 65% and maximum life span is increased 50%, when caloric restriction is begun just before [[puberty]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Koubova J, Guarente L | title = How does calorie restriction work? | journal = Genes & Development | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | pages = 313–21 | date = February 2003 | pmid = 12569120 | doi = 10.1101/gad.1052903 | doi-access = free }}</ref> For [[Drosophila melanogaster|fruit flies]] the life extending benefits of calorie restriction are gained immediately at any age upon beginning calorie restriction and ended immediately at any age upon resuming full feeding.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mair W, Goymer P, Pletcher SD, Partridge L | title = Demography of dietary restriction and death in Drosophila | journal = Science | volume = 301 | issue = 5640 | pages = 1731–3 | date = September 2003 | pmid = 14500985 | doi = 10.1126/science.1086016 | bibcode = 2003Sci...301.1731M | s2cid = 27653353 }}</ref>

Most biomedical [[Gerontology|gerontologists]] believe that [[biomedical]] [[molecular]] [[engineering]] will eventually extend maximum lifespan and even bring about [[Rejuvenation (aging)|rejuvenation]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aging |first1=Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on a National Research Agenda on |last2=Lonergan |first2=Edmund T. |title=Basic Biomedical Research |date=1991 |publisher=National Academies Press (US) |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234008/ |access-date=20 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref> [[Life extension#Anti-aging drugs|Anti-aging drugs]] are a potential tool for extending life.<ref name=Kaeberlein>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kaeberlein M | title = Resveratrol and rapamycin: are they anti-aging drugs? | journal = BioEssays | volume = 32 | issue = 2 | pages = 96–9 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20091754 | doi = 10.1002/bies.200900171 | s2cid = 16882387 }}</ref>

[[Aubrey de Grey]], a theoretical gerontologist, has proposed that aging can be reversed by [[strategies for engineered negligible senescence]]. De Grey has established [[The Methuselah Mouse Prize]] to award money to researchers who can extend the maximum life span of mice. So far, three Mouse Prizes have been awarded: one for breaking longevity records to Dr. Andrzej Bartke of [[Southern Illinois University]] (using GhR knockout mice); one for late-onset rejuvenation strategies to Dr. Stephen Spindler of the [[University of California]] (using caloric restriction initiated late in life); and one to Dr. Z. Dave Sharp for his work with the pharmaceutical [[rapamycin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Work |url=http://mfoundation.org/work |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214103654/http://mfoundation.org/work |archive-date=2015-02-14 |access-date=2018-12-10 |website=Methuselah Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=January 2025}}