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Scientists discover the secret of ageing

post #1 of 40
2/17/10 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
FT.com / UK - Scientists discover the secret of ageing

"...........The research, published by the journal Molecular Systems Biology, shows that when an ageing cell detects serious damage to its DNA – caused by the wear and tear of life – it sends out specific internal signals.

These distress signals trigger the cell’s mitocondria, its tiny energy-producing power packs, to make oxidising “free radical” molecules, which in turn tell the cell either to destroy itself or to stop dividing. The aim is to avoid the damaged DNA that causes cancer.........."
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post #2 of 40
2/17/10 at 9:15am
If this ever became a viable source of life preservation, it really would be the end of humanity.
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post #3 of 40
2/17/10 at 9:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnwmclean View Post
If this ever became a viable source of life preservation, it really would be the end of humanity.
Unless of course the governments stopped spending so much on the war machine and more on the space programs. If we were able to find an extra-solar planet suitable to live on or were able to terraform a local neighbor, prolonging life would not be an issue.
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post #4 of 40
2/17/10 at 11:58am
This is pretty well known. Almost all cells in your body die by apoptosis, programmed cell death. Apoptosis occurs to avoid damaged DNA or because a cell has divided many times. Every time a cell divides, there is a "buffer zone" on the end of the chromosomes called called a telomere which shrinks. As you get older, the telomeres shrink overall as a function of time, eventually degrading the cell.

There are examples of cancer cells with active telomerase genes that are still living and dividing from the 1950s.

The point of cell death is that some amount of DNA damage is inevitable. Our DNA is really only built to last 40-50 years, which is why the cancer rate is so high after you turn about 40.
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post #5 of 40
2/17/10 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IPodPJ View Post
Unless of course the governments stopped spending so much on the war machine and more on the space programs. If we were able to find an extra-solar planet suitable to live on or were able to terraform a local neighbor, prolonging life would not be an issue.
Education makes innovation, not money. Brilliance finds a way, it always escapes.
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post #6 of 40
2/17/10 at 12:48pm
My wife is a molecular biologist and knows all this shyte, but she reckons that we just live too long. Cancer is a throw off which would probably attack more people if they lived longer. No one knows for sure, however, and probably won't till we kick this dying habit.
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post #7 of 40
2/17/10 at 5:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott_Tarlow View Post
Education makes innovation, not money. Brilliance finds a way, it always escapes.
Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
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post #8 of 40
2/17/10 at 10:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zodduska View Post
Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
Nice lift from Jurassic Park.
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post #9 of 40
2/18/10 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by IPodPJ View Post
Nice lift from Jurassic Park.
The quotemeister!
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post #10 of 40
2/18/10 at 1:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by IPodPJ View Post
Unless of course the governments stopped spending so much on the war machine and more on the space programs. If we were able to find an extra-solar planet suitable to live on or were able to terraform a local neighbor, prolonging life would not be an issue.
It would probably take so long to reach a habitable planet that we'd need to extend our lives to get there.
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post #11 of 40
2/18/10 at 1:49am
aging=inevitable death. i think Peter Tosh sums it up with "everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." This IMHO is life's greatest paradox.
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post #12 of 40
2/18/10 at 2:02am
Woody Allen was once asked if he wanted to be immortalized by his films. He said, "No," I want to be immortal by not dying."
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post #13 of 40
2/18/10 at 9:21am
My girlfriend is studying cells and what not. I hear enough of her about this subject.
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post #14 of 40
2/18/10 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
My wife is a molecular biologist and knows all this shyte, but she reckons that we just live too long.
I think so, too. When you look at a baby, toddler or teen you see life in full bloom. After 50 or 60, we're just falling apart. I'm 52 and I don't know how the hell these people live to be a hundred. It's not only the physical thing, its the sheer gravitas of life that is dragging me down. If I lived to be a hundred, it would have to be under a rock someplace. If not physically, I'm emotionally exhausted by life.
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post #15 of 40
2/18/10 at 8:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnwmclean View Post
If this ever became a viable source of life preservation, it really would be the end of humanity.


Humanity has already passed the point of no return.
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