[extropy-chat] Support the Mouse, get Mouse Merchandise

[Reason]

I have been threatening to do this for a while, and the time has now
arrived. With the help of Gina Miller, I now have an array of Methuselah
Mouse Prize merchandise to give away to new donors over the next few weeks.
Please visit the following page to see what is up for grabs today:

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/000160.php

At the time of writing, I'm giving away "Support the Mouse!" bumper
stickers, "real anti-aging science" mugs and "got rejuvenation?" shirts to
new donors to the prize fund.

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The Methuselah Mouse Prize is a contest designed to accelerate progress
towards real longevity-enhancing medicine, promote public interest and
involvement in research on healthy life extension, and encourage more such
research by providing a financial incentive to researchers.

The prevailing view of the general public is that, despite much-publicised
progress in certain areas, we still have no real chance of greatly extending
human longevity within the lifetime of anyone alive today. This view may be
overly pessimistic. If so, the best way to correct it is to show that the
longevity of a laboratory mammal can be greatly increased. This will be
especially effective in raising public optimism and interest if the
life-extending interventions are only implemented when the mouse has already
reached an advanced age, and the prize is partly geared to encouraging such
"late-onset" interventions.

In less than a year of running, the Methuselah Mouse Prize has accumulated
more than $400,000 in cash and pledges - far outstripping the first year of
public fundraising for the Ansari X Prize back in 1996-7. I think we can all
agree that the X Prize has produced impressive results in a few short years.
It has attracted more than $160 million in research funding with a $10
million purse, and reinvigorated the private aerospace industry.

The Methuselah Mouse Prize is one of the next generation in modern prizes
and benefits from recent experience. With your help, I expect it to produce
the same spectacular results - in both science and public support - for
serious anti-aging science that the X Prize has produced for the private
aerospace industry.

When you donate, be sure to include your e-mail address and I'll be in touch
with you to organize the mailing of your Methuselah Mouse gear. Remember
that by supporting the mouse, you are helping to bring real anti-aging
therapies that much closer!

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Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme