After a couple of previous articles we reached part VI – the most important of all (in my opinion) because a cell that divides itself in two also dilutes its original damage as well. Having a fresh supply of somatic cells derived from our own DNA would largely correct many of geriatrics diseases. Let’s find out why!
What’s the problem in the first place?
We start life from one composite cell only – the factory ovum and a set of genetic blueprints. This cell was created through the mixing of three types of DNA:
- maternal nuclear DNA
- maternal mitochondrial DNA
- paternal nuclear DNA
If the cell is viable, it starts dividing until it reaches a certain size, when the following happen:
- some cells continue dividing until they reach their own “stop” signals
- some cells remain undifferentiated or partially differentiated as a stock of stem cells for the rest of our lives
- some cells stop dividing forever
Like retired persons who refuse to learn a new field, such cells are too differentiated to do something else, so they continue living, sometimes become senescent and other times are destroyed. Mainly these cells lie in:
- the thymus
- the heart
- the brain
We experience the wear and tear of aging not only because we accumulate all sorts of junk and our cells are not as “clean” as young ones are, but because we lose some of our cells in the first place!
So how can we get fresh cells?
RepleniSENS proposes regenerative medicine as a solution to our loss of cells as we age and the diseases in which this field could be applied are too numerous to count here. Needless to day, the field has been progressing slowly but steadily. If politics wouldn’t mess around, the progress could have been more impressing right now as I type these words.
Unfortunately it is much easier to sell addictions rather than stem cell research with curing potential. For bad people to do bad things it is enough that good people do nothing.
By the time we reach our 60s most of us will already suffer from at least one chronic disease. This type of disease – no matter the underlying mechanism – is a good candidate to possible regenerative medicine solutions. What can you do right now to speed up research?
It is time for every disease to have its own patient association that could not only support patients and their families, but also lobby for more research money and a better administration of resources. Patients need to understand the medical industry and demand such cures with their money and energy.
I see such chronic patients every day and it amazes me how little they know about their own disease. Sometimes they don’t even know what drugs they take. Medical professional associations are not enough because patients are the ones who suffer in the first place and they have the drive and the motivation to end up this suffering in the first place! Modern medicine is frequently accused of prolonging suffering by managing diseases instead of curing them – shouldn’t patients themselves be more vocal then?
So this is the plan for RepleniSENS, but that’s not all that needs to be done. While some cells refuse to continue dividing, others accumulate nuclear mutations and can’t be stopped from dividing, putting our whole lives in danger for their insane ambition– more about it in the next and final part of this series!
Bibliography:
“Ending aging” by Aubrey de Grey (link)
Anca Ioviţă is the author of Eat Less Live Longer: Your Practical Guide to Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition available on Amazon and several other places. If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to sign up to receive updates on her second book regarding a comparative biography of aging from the simplest to the most complex organisms known.
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