Giving Baby Mice This Drug Makes Them Live 10 Percent Longer

It's great news for mice. Rapamycin can be given to baby mice every day for the first 45 days of their lives, extending their life expectancy by 10 percent.

Rapamycin is something that has been around for a long time. In clinical settings, the immunosuppressive drug is used to facilitate organ transplants. This study builds on the growing interest in rapamycin as an exciting anti-aging drug.

A group of 170 genetically diverse mice were used for the study. One hundred and thirty of them were fed the pharmaceutical first through their mother's milk and then in their own chow, while the remaining 40 were kept off the sauce. Rapamycin treatment ended after 45 days. The scientists followed the lil' guys through their day. It's a sad day.

The rapamycin-fed rodents lived longer than those who did not. Their lives were much more. Rapamycin seemed to slow aging down in male mice, according to the researchers. The mouse life cycles were the same, but it took longer. The rapamycin-powered male mice were faster, stronger, and healthier than those who did not receive the pharmaceutical.

The treatment extended the median life span by 10 percent, with the strongest effect in males.

There are a few clues as to why the drug worked so well. At the end of the treatment period, the dosed mice were found to have younger transcriptomes and younger epigenomics. The hypothesis that the secret to anti-aging treatments could be found in early development is supported by the two findings.

The results show that short-term rapamycin treatment during development is a novel longevity intervention that slows down development and aging.

Some people are already taking it with the goal of living longer, but the health implications aren't clear.

The drug found similar anti-aging success when it was tested on a daphnia magna.

If there's any clear conclusion, it's this: don't give a mouse a cookie. Rapamycin would be better for him.

Rapamycin treatment prolongs life span and health span of male mice.

Anti-aging mice have a vaccine that successfully slows the aging process.