$1 Million Prize for Engineering a Fountain of Youth

 

Joon Yun, benefactor of the prize. Screenshot: YouTube/Palo Alto Prize

The Palo Alto Longevity Prize was launched on  September 9th 2014  by physician, life-enhancing advocate, and hedge fund manager Joon Yun.  11 teams have taken up the gauntlet (the deadline for team registration is in January 2015).
The rules of the challenge are pretty simple: Every team has to pursue two longevity-increasing objectives, each of which is worth $500,000. The deadline to present their results is set at September 2018. 
"Cracking the code on the fundamental aging process may allow us to influence the actual biology of aging, thereby slowing or resolving the process of aging and many diseases and issues related to aging. If we solve this, we all win," competition organizers said in the announcement. The prize will be divided into two $500,000 awards, given to the first teams to unlock the secrets of a foundational trait known as "homeostatic capacity." Homeostatic capacity is the ability of the body's systems to stabilize in response to stressors.
As the body ages, its ability to recover from diseases, injuries and lifestyle stresses such as a late night or loss of sleep becomes more difficult. In youth, blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels can return easily to normal levels. But as homeostatic capacity erodes with age, the body no longer is able to regulate these changes as effectively, resulting in diseases such as diabetes or hypertension.Increased homeostatic capacity could in theory allow people to live perhaps 120 years, organizers said.