From: Joao Magalhaes (jpnitya@skynet.be)
Date: Thu Jul 25 2002 - 07:47:34 MDT
Hi!
At 20:53 24-07-2002 -0400, Rafal wrote:
>The accumulation of mtDNA mutations is so far the best explanation for most
>aspects of aging.
My approach toward all theories of aging is open-minded skepticism. mtDNA
being at the origin of aging is an interesting hypothesis, although since
nuclear DNA is more central it's more likely to be the key regulatory
aspect of aging.
>Rafal ( writing this after crunching through about 5 megabases of human
>mtDNA today, and everyday for the last two weeks, planning to sequence a
>grand total of 10,000 megabases over the next year or so)
Really? I normally ask three questions to any theory of aging: 1) How to
explain Werner's syndrome? 2) How to guarantee the theory -- in this case
mtDNA mutation accumulation -- isn't just an effect of aging, rather than a
cause? 3) How to explain differences in the rate of aging between different
animals? Perhaps you can answer me question 3) based on the mitochondria
theory of aging? Why mice age a lot faster than humans? Have there been any
mtDNA genes mapped in humans that protect our mtDNA? In fact, how different
is mtDNA between different species?
Best wishes.
Joao Magalhaes (joao.magalhaes@fundp.ac.be)
Website on Aging: http://www.senescence.info
Reason's Triumph: http://www.jpreason.com
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