User:RelentlessRecusant/Methuselah Program

The Methuselah Program was a high-risk, high-return exploratory research program piloted by Acumen Pharmaceuticals and the UNSC Department of Biological Warfare (ONI) exploring pharmacological avenues to prolong lifespan in humans — that is, to use small molecules to prolong longevity and lifespan in humans.

Its precedent was set in nearly six hundred years of human research in the causation of aging as well as the prolongation of lifespan. From early studies in C. elegans in the late 20th century, it was known that aging in the worm was controlled by several highly-conserved signaling pathways, such as the insulin receptor (INSR), the insulin-like factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), forkhead box O (FOXO), and the 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathways. These signaling pathways were then shown to be key master regulators of both metabolism and lifespan in many other animals, such as mice and humans.