From: Smigrodzki, Rafal (SmigrodzkiR@msx.upmc.edu)
Date: Fri Apr 12 2002 - 23:35:12 MDT
Robert J. Bradbury [mailto:bradbury@aeiveos.com] wrote:
Perhaps, but things seem to be leaning in the direction
that metabolism produces free radicals, free radicals
damage DNA, damaged DNA decreases longevity.
### A little bit off topic - in the abstracts for the American Academy of
Neurology meeting this year I found some interesting tidbits about mtDNA.
Turns out the ApoE4 phenotype, which is associated with increased risk of
Alzheimer's disease and accelerated progression of multiple sclerosis, also
results in accelerated accumulation of somatic random mtDNA mutations in the
brain. This is another little piece supporting the theory that age-related
brain dysfunction could be primarily caused by mitochondrial damage. So be
nice to your mitos, don't eat much, take CoQ10, and have some blueberries.
In the same meeting, there is the description of using a 9.4 Tesla MRI
machine to obtain cellular-resolution images of living lamprey spinal cords,
with clearly visible axons. An 8.0 Tesla machine for human use was recently
built in Cleveland, and it gives images of arterioles and venules. I used to
be quite skeptical of any prospects for a brain mapping machine capable of
gathering data for uploads in living persons, but now I am not so sure. With
the use of massively parallel grids of electrodes inserted in the brain
(made of titanium for MRI compatibility) you might get tremendous amounts of
functional data, and if coupled to highly detailed structural images, it
might be enough. I still think it's rather far-fetched, the bandwith of the
MRI is most likely not sufficient to collect the data in a reasonable amount
of time (you don't want to spend a few years in the machine), but, who
knows...
Rafal
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