April 13, 200422 yr A DWARF mouse named Yoda has celebrated his fourth birthday, making him the oldest of his kind and far beyond 100 in human years, the University of Michigan Medical School says. Yoda owes his longevity to genetic modifications that affected his pituitary and thyroid glands and reduced insulin production - and which left him a third smaller than an average mouse and very sensitive to cold. On the other hand, at the human equivalent of about 136 years, Yoda is still mobile, sexually active and "looking good," said Dr. Richard A. Miller, associate director of research at the school's geriatrics centre. Yoda lives in a carefully maintained lab with roughly 100 other male geriatric mice being used for a lifespan study. An average lab mouse lives slightly more than two years. Yoda's cage mate, named Princess Leia after another "Star Wars" character, is a much larger female who uses her body warmth to keep the dwarf mouse from freezing to death. Researchers are studying the genetic mutants to determine how altered hormone levels can slow the aging process, with the hope of figuring out which methods, if any, eventually could be applied to humans.
April 13, 200422 yr The female mouse in the picture looks like a hamster. Can I get some of that long life tonic for my hamsters ? Maybe Stinkus will feel better after taking it...
April 14, 200422 yr wow, if he is over 100 in human years while being 4 just imagine how old Mr. Jingles was...
April 14, 200422 yr wow, if he is over 100 in human years while being 4 just imagine how old Mr. Jingles was... If I remember the Green Mile correctly and how old Mr. Jingles is(I thought he was 87, but that may be off), then he is 2,958 years old. That is old as hell...like literally.
April 14, 200422 yr If I remember the Green Mile correctly and how old Mr. Jingles is(I thought he was 87, but that may be off), then he is 2,958 years old. That is old as hell...like literally. I read the book about a month ago, and 87 seems about right
April 14, 200422 yr I did my clinical pastoral education at University of Michigan Med Center - tough mice, there.... like everything at Michigan, tough and unbeatable!
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