Rapamycin may slow aging. Here’s one way the drug will be tested

A few years back, Matt Kaeberlein was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder. “It was really bad,” he recalls. He wasn’t sleeping well and couldn’t throw a ball due to the pain. His doctor recommended physical therapy, and told him that it may take a year to get better.

Feeling frustrated, he decided to try rapamycin. In recent years, some high-profile longevity scientists have started taking the drug in hopes of fending off age-related health problems. So far, it’s untested in people taking it for anti-aging, but rapamycin has been shown to extend the lifespan of mice.