Researchers into extending life line up in hope of $101m prize

Admitting its goal is "audacious", the largest longevity-focused prize in history - offering $101m (£76m) in prize money - will announce its shortlist of candidates today.

- Amelia Hill

The aim of the seven-year XPrize Healthspan is to develop a way for humans to dramatically rejuvenate muscles, cognition and immune functions, the three systems crucial to healthy ageing.

"This competition isn't just accelerating progress, it's shattering the limits of what's possible when it comes to ageing," said Jamie Justice, the executive director of XPrize, run by the XPrize Foundation and backed by the Hevolution Foundation.

The winning team should be able to restore these three systems by a minimum of 10 - but ideally 20 - years in humans aged 50 to 80. A key condition of the final prize is that the innovation is accessible to as many people as cheaply and easily as possible.