November 5th, 2023

First, please see the survival curves, which are definitely approaching the stage where we can draw tentative conclusions concerning average lifespan. What we won't be able to do for a good six months yet, probably more like nine months, is speculate even tentatively about maximum lifespan, i.e. about whether we're seeing a true postponement of decline or merely a "rectangularisation". That's the acid test for a combination study, because the goal is to hit all major, life-limiting types of damage one way or another, whether directly or indirectly.

One heartening thing we can begin to say, which is what’s shown on the image below, is that our two types of controls, mock and naive, are behaving pretty much indistinguishably in the "all-control" treatment group. (Note that it’s normal in this strain, C57Bl/6, for males to live longer than females.) This is excellent news (assuming it holds up!) because it means we have chosen (and implemented!) our delivery methods in a manner that did not impose additional impact, whether beneficial or detrimental, on mouse lifespan. If there is such an impact, we have enough mice that we can factor it out when we quantify the effects of the interventions themselves, but with no such effect being present we are on statistically much more solid ground.

What I don't have for you today, but am pretty confident I'll have a month from now, is an expanded range of data on mouse health. You'll recall that the last update had a teaser of that, in the form of a bit of glucose tolerance data; next time I hope to present some data on physical performance (Rotarod), appearance (alopecia) and cognitive performance (open field behaviour).