Re: Re "immortality gene revealed."

From: Damien Broderick (damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Wed Jan 07 1998 - 05:58:13 MST


At 11:27 AM 1/6/98 -0800, Brian wrote:
> people might
>start having children when they are better prepared, emotionally as
>well as financially. This could have unintended genetic advantages[...]
>A memetic effect having a genetic effect.

Good grief, a Lamarckian! Quick, hide the silverware! :)

>> Unless some gerontocracy weirdly starts freezing the eggs of
>>very-late fertile women and has them (1) fertilised with old men's
>>screened sperm and (2) preferentially implanted into young women.

>(2) Why younger women?

If you want ova from the long-lived to supplant those from the young, you'd
need to persuade lots of the young to forego using their own youthful ova
and host spare gametes from the Darwinnowed old. Plus the advantage, of
course, that youthful wombs are better able to carry healthy babies to term.

Damien Broderick



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