The short term solution is venture philanthropy, something that Peter Thiel has spoken on recently: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/12/peter-thiel-enco

The short term solution is venture philanthropy, something that Peter Thiel has spoken on recently: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/12/peter-thiel-encourages-radical-philanthropy.php http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/12/peter-thiel-encou... In short big philanthropy needs a component that looks a lot like the venture capital industry, and doesn't currently have it. Lots of smaller, big risk, potentially game changing bets rather than stultifying into safe big-budget, incremental institutional irrelevance. In this case, for example, this research was rescued from years further of oblivion by a funding source that was willing to take a risk. Much thinking has taken place on this. You might look at some of Aubrey de Grey's early publications on the triangular log jam for example: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2004/06/the-curious-case-of-the-catatonic-biogerontologists.php http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2004/06/the-curious-case-...