From: Edward Chusid (ejc@umich.edu)
Date: Tue Jul 08 1997 - 10:16:55 MDT
Hmm....this is a off the cuff guess, not being a medical expert. But with
the Spleen able to trim off excess dead red blood cells, does it also
regulate the total red blood cell count in the blood stream? If so, this
would add a regulating element to the bloodstream that would be lacking in
any tissue system that was given similar regrowth potential.
Ed
(Edward Chusid) (ejc@umich.edu) (pager 495-8041)
On Mon, 7 Jul 1997, Mathew Korica wrote:
> Transhuman Mailing List
>
> I just watched "Man Immortal" on TLC and I must say that despite the
> title of their program, their conclusions were disappointing. Something
> to the effect of: "Though man may die, mankind will live forever" and
> sap like that.
>
> They put the viewer on a bit of a roller-coaster ride with segments
> about some new research or discovery with fantastic potential, then
> tempering our enthusiasm with the downside (example: we might be able to
> change our "clock" genes but the free radicals will get us anyway).
>
> They ended off with finding a way to make our cells renew themselves
> indefinately so as to avoid free radical damage. Though they suggest
> this is possible, apparently the cell reproduction goes out of control,
> inevitably leading to cancer. And then you die.
>
> I don't follow their logic however: If the point of cell renewal is to
> replace damaged cells, and our red blood cells (for instance) can do
> this more rapidly than cells in other parts of our body, why couldn't we
> make these other cells work at least as well (once we find the way to
> reprogram them) and keep their reproduction stable as that of the red
> blood cells?
>
> Mat
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