Extending the human lifespan is a multibillion-pound industry and has been hailed as the most fascinating scientific challenge in modern history. But if a drug to achieve longevity is ever discovered, one thing looks certain: it is highly unlikely to work on women – and almost inconceivable that it will work on mothers.

That is because, say experts, cages in laboratories across the world are filled with white mice who share a striking similarity: they are all male.

This is a serious problem, said Dr Steven Austad, a biologist and the author of the bestselling Methuselah’s Zoo, because the sex differences between rodents are significant – and the differences between virgin female mice and mice that have given birth are even larger.

About 75% of the drugs that extend lifespan in mice work only on males: the drugs were developed on male mice then belatedly tested on both sexes, only to discover the females did not respond.

  • @toast@retrolemmy.com
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    65 months ago

    The expert quoted has had quite a life:

    After earning a BA in English literature from UCLA, Austad left academia for a number of years during which among other things, he drove a taxi cab in New York City, worked as a newspaper reporter, and trained lions for television and movies.

    He sounds pretty cool.

    I admit I looked him up only because his view challenged what I’ve been seeing in reporting on studies done in this area. I’ve seen what seems like a trend in studying and comparing changes in lifespan and healthspan in male and female subjects (in both human and mouse). I suspect I am suffering from some recency bias, but it really does seem to me like studies in this area are better at teasing out sex differences than in non-longevity lines of research.

    Anyway, thought I’d mention the expert’s colorful past