Scientists turn off the aging process in worms
Will we one day be able to disable the aging process? It sounds like an impossible goal, but scientists from Northwestern University have found a way to turn off the ‘genetic switch’ that causes us to get older - in worms at least. While it won’t give us the keys to immortality just yet, the discovery could lead to new ways of making us more productive and active in the latter years of our lives.
PR:
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/07/genetic-switch-determines-longevity-in-animals.html
#research #antiaging #longevity
Sincerely hope NO!
ReplyDeleteBetter search for a different way to spread this cancer of humans around the Universe.
Once a species has mastered the art of its own genetic code, death offers little to recommend itself.
ReplyDeleteI have oft time asked and written about, or should I say questioned, “Is the fact we age at a certain point in our lives, planned obsolescence if you will, proof that we are a product of intelligent design?” For would not evolution have long ago circumnavigated such a debilitating gene to our species. Early humankind needed everyone to survive as long as possible in its effort to sustain the species. The bodies sudden desire to start aging after successfully growing new cells for every part of the body for years is mind boggling. It is plain and simply planned obsolescence. My emotional side or romantic side believes we are to learn something and then move on… and this has always bolstered that notion.
ReplyDeleteGenetic lines that have survived this far have had to weather mass extinctions and competition with other evolving organisms. The code that makes them up would be more likely to survive those events if it incorporated the ability to adapt. More generations means more opportunities to adjust to whatever change in circumstances is making survival difficult for a species.
ReplyDeleteI want to be a worm ;)
ReplyDelete