Betterhumans gives more background on the research behind the inaugural award of the Methuselah Mouse Rejuvenation Prize. "The research showed conclusively that mice fed a calorie-restricted diet in middle age had fewer age-related diseases and lived longer than mice on normal diets, suggesting that the intervention and drugs that mimic it could provide the same benefits to middle-aged humans. Spindler worked on the project with scientists from Campbell, California-based BioMarker Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is working to develop drugs that reproduce the beneficial effects of caloric restriction." By recognizing and rewarding this sort of early rejuvenation research, the Methuselah Foundation hopes to encourage more and better progress towards healthy life extension in the future.
Link: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-11-23-3