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Posted on 06/17/2002 1:38:00 PM PDT by sourcery
Better grow tens of millions of new jobs in the economy every year, as more of these "supermen" continue to work into their 80s and 90s. That's a lot of burgers to flip.
Monash researchers discover immune system stem cells
In a world first, Monash University researchers have discovered immune system stem cells and have used them to grow a crucial part of the immune system - the thymus.
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The thymus is a small organ that is critical in generating many vital cells of the immune system, including infection-fighting T-cells. In some people the thymus does not work properly due to ageing, attack by viruses, chemotherapy or genetic abnormalities. When this happens, the body becomes susceptible to infection and death can result. But Associate Professor Richard Boyd and Dr Jason Gill from the Monash University Medical School have identified a small population of cells that can generate a complete and functional thymus. Their research has been published today in the prestigious international journal Nature Immunology. "A major question in immunology has been how to build a thymus," Associate Professor Boyd said. "There are two major parts to the thymus, lymphocytes and the epithelium. It has been known for about 30 years that haemopoetic stem cells lead to the lymphocytes but, until now, we have not known which cells lead to the creation of the epithelium." The thymus epithelium is vital in the immune response because it has the unique ability of converting haemopoetic stem cells to T-cells, Associate Professor Boyd said. It also controls the ability of T-cells to recognise foreign invaders and assists in stopping T-cells from attacking body tissues. If there is a defect in the thymus then there is a defect in the T-cells and a greater predisposition to disease. "The discovery of thymic epithelial stem cells is hugely exciting for us and has taken 15 years of dedicated research." Associate Professor Boyd said he hoped the research would eventually be used to repair or renew the thymus of people in whom it has been damaged. "There has been limited success with thymus transplants as they are invariably rejected by the recipient, but now we have the possibility of rebuilding someone's thymus after it has been destroyed or using gene therapy to correct gene mutations that lead to thymus problems," he said. Interviews: Associate Professor Richard Boyd on + 61 3 9903 0738 or 0419 317 533 or Dr Jason Gill on +61 3 9903 0746 or 0422 094 837. For further information contact Penny Fannin in the Media Communications Office on + 61 3 9905 5328 or 0412 213 994 |
The further out we push the envelop the more ways we find to die, we got diseases now that didn't even exist when I was born, there would seem to be some guiding force kicking us off the rock when we're done (or something). We'll never achieve immortality, and we shouldn't that would be bad, think about how crowded it would be if everyone that had ever lived was still alive.
And as for life extension I think it's important to note that Tim Leary thought our life expectancy would be around 150 years by now... he's dead and we're still hanging around in 2 digits.
Sweet Jesus - Social Security is bankrupt already!
Aw, death isn't a disease, it's only a side effect.
Probably how Methuselah got so old. ;o)
Never heard of the man.
Never underestimate the resourcefulness, ingenuity and adaptability of free men.
I usually don't. But it is true that there is a finite amount of space and resources that we all compete for, and throwing artificially long-lived, resource-intensive human beings into that mix will result in fewer resources for everyone (at least the creatures that are fortunate/intelligent/tough enough to be able to compete for said resources). And unless we get cracking on some way to send our best and brightest to other worlds (which doesn't appear we will be doing any time soon), I for one don't want to be around to watch 25 pounds of sausage get stuffed into a 5-pound wrapper.
Not everybody can live on the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
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Ewwwww . . . Just think, you could live 500 years or so with each of them, a whole lot longer with some since we probably couldn't tolerate being around more than one in a thousand of 'em that long. But you'd definitely have enough time to get to know everybody. I wonder if our brains would be able to keep track of all of them, even if we had spent a century around them?
Unfortunately, we won't be truly "immortal" in the future, imho. We just won't age or die of age related diseases. But a whole lot of other disastrous things will still be able to bump us off. That's the kind of immortality I'm hoping for . . . Just an extra thousand years or so before that bolt of lightning. Humans have way too much potential to only be given a measly 70 years.
Maybe in a million or a billion years my neighbor would learn some other rhythms on his drumkit. Could happen.
Don't be so sure...
In a 1950's Sci-Fi/Horror flick it always begins this way... Good Ideas, Advancement of Knowledge, etc...
But we know how it always ends, don't we?
The girl, forced into a corner, screaming insanely with her fist stuffed in her mouth as a horrible shadow looms up on her.
That's where we come in.
We kick the monster's ass and send it packing.
Isn't that right, Peep?
After years of eating and drinking whatever I wanted, "they" probably won't have much use for my organs. (Although I would still not give them up, simply on principle).
I do have, however, a couple of organs that science is going to have a difficult time duplicating ;-)
And the Peepster, or any other organ-goblin, damn sure isn't getting those
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