The Speculist

Our good friend Reason reports on an exciting development: $1 million donation just received by the Methuselah Mouse Prize:

Yes, you read that right: Mprize, $1 million donation, and I have it from Dave Gobel that the cashier's check just cleared today. Wow. This was somewhat out of the blue, and certainly far ahead of our expectations for progress in the rest of 2005!

Let me be one of the first to thank the anonymous donor for his or her generosity and for greatly raising the level of vindication experienced by the Mprize volunteers and other donors. This is a big step forward for efforts to vitalize serious scientific progress towards a cure for aging. There is a long way to go yet - and more seven figure donations, I hope - but thank you, anonymous donor, for pushing the best present day effort into the major leagues.

We'll second those thanks. Unlike other prizes where all the drama and intrigue derive from who is going to win, the Methusaleh Mouse Prize continues to be intriguing on both ends. Watching the prize amount grow like this is really quite exciting.