Two crypto companies, Pump.science and Hedgehog Markets, are launching a project that will allow people to bet on the athleticism of laboratory mice that have been given compounds that can improve human life expectancy.
“Eeach week, mice are treated with potential life-extending substances and undergo endurance tests,” the two companies said in a statement Wednesday. “Participants can access video footage of the individual mice, preliminary data and insights from previous experiments to inform their predictions about which mouse which will stay the longest on the rotarod.”
The endurance test will involve placing laboratory mice on a rotating rod, is considered “the industry standard for measuring motor function and vitality in aging research,” according to a statement. A mouse’s endurance, and possibly the effectiveness of the longevity compounds it is given, will be determined by how long they can stay on the rod as the speed is gradually increased.
People interested in participating will be able to bet on which mouse will perform best using the Solana-based prediction platform Hedgehog Markets. The mice will be named and testing will last eight weeks, the companies said.
The new initiative comes about two months after prediction markets, namely market leader Polymarket, experienced a massive surge in volumes during the US presidential election. Polymarket cumulative trade volume surpassed 9 billion dollars last year.
Betting on science
“By streaming mouse endurance tests in real-time with prediction markets, we are ushering in a new and more engaging participatory model for scientific discovery,” Pump.science founder Benji Leibowitz said in a statement. Hedgehog Markets CEO Kyle DiPeppe echoed those sentiments, adding that “prediction markets have proven powerful for everything from sports to politics. Now we’re bringing that same power to science.”
Supported by the Solana Foundation, Pump.science is a “crypto-powered research protocol for launching and funding scientific experiments, starting with lifespan studies.” Lifespan studies, particularly popular in the technology capital of the world, Silicon Valley, explore methods to improve and extend human lifespans.
