A drug already used in humans was reported yesterday in Nature to extend the lives of mice by up to 14%.
The drug, rapamycin, is a bacterial product developed from a compound found in soil on Easter Island. Although the research is only on mice and the drug suppresses the immune system (hence its use in transplant patients) many papers have jumped on this as an ‘elixir of life’ story.
In a News and Views article accompanying the research paper, Matt Kaeberlein and Brian Kennedy, of the University of Washington, Seattle, write:
Is this the first step towards an anti-ageing drug for people? Certainly, healthy individuals should not consider taking rapamycin to slow ageing — the potential immunosuppressive effects of this compound alone are sufficient to caution against this. On the basis of animal models, however, it is interesting to consider that rapamycin … might prove useful in combating many age-associated disorders.
So how well did news sources fare in presenting this study of mice to their readers? The Great Beyond investigates…
Headline: A pill for longer life?
First mention of ‘mice’: First sentence.
Claims for human health: “The big question, of course, is whether this drug could extend human life.”
Headline: Antibiotic Delayed Aging in Experiments With Mice
First mention of ‘mice’: Headline.
Claims for human health: “No one knows yet if rapamycin slows aging in people or at what dose it might be effective.”
Headline: Secret to a longer life lies on Easter Island
First mention of ‘mice’: Second paragraph.
Claims for human health: Findings are “raising the possibility that it may delay ageing in people”.
Headline: Easter Island drug ‘boosts lifespan’
First mention of ‘mice’: First sentence.
Claims for human health: “may one day massively boost human life expectancy”.
Headline: Has Holy Grail of longer life been found?
First mention of ‘mice’: Second paragraph.
Claims for human health: “If the results were able to be replicated in humans, it could mean an extra six years of life for men and nine for women, raising the prospect of a biochemical ‘elixir of life’.”
Headline: Scientists discover Easter Island ‘fountain of youth’ drug that can extend life by ten years
First mention of ‘mice’: Twentieth paragraph (although “animals” mentioned higher up).
Claims for human health: “A miraculous ‘elixir of youth’ which could extend the human life span by more than a decade is being developed by scientists.”
Headline: New pill can add 20 years to life
First mention of ‘mice’: Fourth paragraph.
Claims for human health: ‘wonder pill could extend the lifespan of people by up to 23 years’.
Image top: word cloud of text from all articles listed above
Image middle: word cloud from Daily Mail text
Image lower: word cloud from NY Times text
All created using Wordle