Longevity - Can Fat Cells Dictate How Long a Human
Survives?
by C.
Bailey-Lloyd/LadyCamelot
zone3
According to the September Issue of Popular Mechanics, a report written by Jim Wilson
explains how human beings may some day have the capability to survive to
be 180 (one hundred eighty) years old!
Based on research from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -( MIT ) - and Professor Leonard
P. Guarante; genetic makeup that rules our individual "time-clocks" can be
virtually erased.
* How is this possible?
Every person
has DNA fragments dubbed telomeres Our telomeres are
specifically designed to extend our lives. These telomeres are copied from
genetic material in our chromosomes. As mitosis occurs, these
telomeres pass to our newly formed cells. As we age, however, our cell
information becomes illegible - similar to "...a document that is
photocopied too many times..." [1] Once this happens, our cells are
depleted of telomeres before our chromosomes are completely corrupted.
Without telomeres, our cells no longer have the vital information to
reproduce themselves. Based on this research, our maximum human lifespan -
theoretically - could typically range from 120 to 180 years of age
IF we can instruct our genes how to tell our body to
lose fat as opposed to storing it.
* So what does fat content
have to do with longevity?
According to studies which began
halfway in the 20th century; yeast, worms and lab rats who sustained
themselves on the brink of starvation lived substantially longer than
their well-nourished counterparts. Genetically tied to our personal
genepools are WAT (White Adipose Tissue)
cells; otherwise known as fat cells, our bodies automatically preserve fat
for future unsurities. Aside from starvation ditets, Professor Guarente is
optimistic that research will lead to a drug that may bind the single
protein (Sirt1) (which directs the
body's ability to store fat in WAT cells) and trick it into thinking that
it needs to release fat as opposed to saving it. In this sense, we could -
hypothetically speaking - have our cake and eat it too. And perhaps, live
to be nearly two centuries old!
The moral dilemmas of super-long,
life expectancies could inevitably trigger social and economic
controversies. In closing, I leave you with my own thoughts on this topic,
based on a satirical analogy from MountainWings.com:
The
Dragonfly
"Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under
the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water
beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few
disturbances and interruptions.
Once in a while, sadness would
come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the
stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this
happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.
Then, one day, one
little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem.
However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come
back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.
When he
reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily
pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must
take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had
turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a
slender body designed for flying.
So, fly he did! And, as he
soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of
life to what he had never known existed.
Then he remembered his
beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to
go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than
he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.
But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not
get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their
time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he
raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!"
~Author Unknown~
Longer lives - longer civilizations?
Some thoughts to ponder...
©
Longevity - Can Fat Cells Dictate How Long a Human Survives?
2004 -
All Rights Reserved
By, C. Bailey-Lloyd/Lady Camelot
References:
PM Magazine, "Live to Be 180"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Telomere.net
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. Bailey-Lloyd/LadyCamelot is the Public Relations' Director for Holistic
Junction -- Your source of information for Acupressure
Practitioners; Chiropractic Schools; Longevity Medicine; Insightful Literature and so much
more!
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