US Scientists Reverse Signs of Aging in Mice

[Jae Ronin]

This is a pretty interesting scientific discovery which has a strong likelihood of getting pushed under the rug if it amounts to anything.

Think of the impact this would have in the world if it was workable on humans.

As long as you didn't have a fatal accident, you could stay on earth for a very long time.

This would change everything.

I'm willing to bet it gets crated and locked up in that big warehouse in Indiana Jones.

It could be the cause of the zombie apocalypse too.

Thoughts?

Find an article to read here.

[redhotrebel]

I'm skeptical- the research is determined by reversing the degenerative effects of telomerase- which as the article correctly states degenerates as cells make copies of copies of copies etc... as we age. However, brain cells do not replicate. You have the same brain from the day you're born until you die. So it doesn't make a copy of cells as we age. Thus "reversing" brain degeneration is not applicable. Long story short, your wrinkles may be reduced but you will still succumb to brain degeneration over time.

There's more but I don't think this is the place for a neurological discussion

[Jae Ronin]

However, brain cells do not replicate. You have the same brain from the day you're born until you die. So it doesn't make a copy of cells as we age. Thus "reversing" brain degeneration is not applicable. Long story short, your wrinkles may be reduced but you will still succumb to brain degeneration over time.

Good point. So if this does take off, we will have a lot of really good looking people who are really old, have Alzheimers, living their second childhood.

So the rest-home industry will benefit -and perhaps providers of life insurance. The prescription drug makers will take a hit.

What's funny to me is that we are moving in the opposite direction of the old SF image of the brain in the tank running the supercomputer.

There are also those who believe that the brain is nothing more than an electrical switchboard for the body and that the "mind" is a spiritual entity -one with the being inhabiting the body.

If the mind is indeed part of the being (or consciousness) controlling a body, then perhaps we could replace the brain (switchboard) with electronics and leave the rest of the body to regenerate itself. The trick would be learning how to operate a synthetic electronic switchboard compared to an organic brain. Transferring yourself from one body to another would be a good skill too. If that was possible to master then longevity wouldn't be a problem. Cloning would be an industry =kinda like in EVE.

[redhotrebel]

Good point. So if this does take off, we will have a lot of really good looking people who are really old, have Alzheimer's, living their second childhood.

Negatory- Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that as it advances "speeds up" the degenerative process (i.e.. starts off slow but progresses quicker the more advanced stage you're in) -your computer when it dies- it doesn't matter how new your monitor looks/is. I think the point they are getting at is "we" can reduce the occurrence of cancer, but that isn't a "new" discovery.

[Neuropaw]

I like to keep up with aging research and hope to participate in it in a few years.

There's still a lot of work to be done. While mice are used for their biological similarities to humans, there still isn't an absolute relation to the ways we age. For one, mice naturally have active telomerase enzymes, we don't.
What the scientists did was create what's called a knock-in gene. They create a modified telomerase gene that they can turn on or off with a drug. The gene is turned off initially and accelerated aging is seen. Then a drug is given to the mouse and the aging is reversed, and to Redhotrebel, even neurological degeneration was reversed in these mice. Now this reactivation does not extend the lifetime of the mouse, it simply keeps them younger for longer. There is more to aging than this one gene. Telomerase positive (wild-type) mice still die of old age, but the mechanism for aging is different now that telomerases are active.
Reactivating telomerases in humans sounds like a fun idea for sure, but it won't cure us of aging by itself.

Additionally, there needs to be some caution taken in this. One thing ALL cancers and tumors have in common is active telomerases. So activating telomerases alone in humans will likely bring about an increased risk of cancer. To counter this problem I bring you the naked mole rat =D
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... 26-02.html

[Petyr Baelich]

tl;dr, apparently aging can be stopped by naked mole rats. Richard Gere will be pleased.

[Pax Harken]

For the brain deterioration it might be possible to teleport our current conscious to another brain or similar entity to avoid it. Article is old but I remember reading about it earlier this year.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/37450