--- title: "Scientists Intrigued by Drug That Extended Lifespans of Mice While Keeping Them Young-Looking" description: "In a new study, elderly lab mice given an anti-aging drug were referred to as \"supermodel grannies\" because they looked so youthful." date: "2024-07-18" modified: "2024-07-18" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/mice-drug-lifespan-anti-aging" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "Aging" - "anti-aging" - "interleuken-11" - "lab mice" --- # Scientists Intrigued by Drug That Extended Lifespans of Mice While Keeping Them Young-Looking ![In a new study, elderly lab mice given an anti-aging drug were referred to as "supermodel grannies" because they looked so youthful.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* In a new study, lab mice given an experimental drug were jokingly referred to as "supermodel grannies" because they looked so youthful even while aging beyond their expected lifespan. As the [*BBC* reports](), the trials for a drug believed to flush out a protein known as interleukin-11 — which in early development helps build our bones but later in life causes the kinds of inflammation that triggers much of the illness of aging — have already had intriguing success in mice. Published in the [journal *Nature*](), a paper about the research undertaken by scientists at Imperial College London, Duke-NUS in Singapore, and the MRC Lab of Medical Sciences found that when given a drug that purges interleukin-11, the mice became more lean, had healthier fur, and had significantly lower levels of cancer than their counterparts of the same age. The drug also, per a [press release]() from the UK government's research arm, extended the median lifespan of male mice by 22.4 percent and female mice by 25 percent. Now, researchers are working to figure out if the same results might be produced in humans, too. Currently, the drug that features a manufactured antibody targeting interleukin-11 is also being tested on human patients with lung fibrosis, which causes difficulty breathing due to scarring of the lungs. Though the human trials aren't yet finished, the researchers behind it are optimistic about its potential. "This research is an important step toward better understanding aging," Prof. Anissa Widjaja of the Duke-NUS med school in Singapore said in the press release. "We have demonstrated, in mice, a therapy that could potentially extend healthy aging." Her Duke-NUS colleague and coauthor Stuart Cook was even more enthusiastic when calling the possibilities the drug presents "tantalizing" in the UK press release. While he's working not to get ahead of himself, Cook told the *BBC* that he's thrilled by the research because, if it does end up producing a similar anti-aging effect in humans, the drug would be "transformative" — and that he'd take it himself if that's the case. "There's lots of snake oil out there," the cardiovascular specialist said, "so I try to stick to the data and they are the strongest out there." **More on aging:** [*Celebrities Quietly Paying Huge Amounts for Anti-Aging Stem Cell Therapy That May Cause Gruesome Side Effects*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()