Lab mouse dies, would be '200 years old' in human years

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A laboratory mouse at Southern Illinois University that died this week of old age was a mouse for the ages, school officials said.

The dwarf mouse, otherwise known as GHR-KO 11C, died Wednesday at 4 years, 11 months and three weeks, officials said. That's 180 to 200 years old in people years, said Andrzej Bartke, a physiologist who worked with the mouse.

"This mouse was just amazing," he said.

It also was genetically engineered not to respond to a growth hormone, a possible reason behind its longevity, Bartke said. He added that the mouse's low levels of insulin and glucose might also have had something to do with his life span.

The average life span for a lab mouse is 2 to 2 1/2 years, he said.

Scientists placed the mouse, which weighed only as much as eight paper clips, in a longevity study when they started to notice he was outliving his peers, Bartke said.

"He was already middle-aged, so we thought, 'Why don't we use him as part of our longevity study and see how long he lives?"' Bartke said.

"Our previous champion was 4 years, 3 months," Bartke said. "It may not sound like much of a difference, but when their lives are so short, those additional months put him way up there."

GHR-KO 11C's remains, like his life, have been donated to science. His body has been sent to the University of Texas at San Antonio for further research into longevity.

SIU school spokesman K.C. Jaehnig said no overall database exists to determine whether this was the oldest mouse ever.