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A thread in philosophy made me think of something I had learned years ago about cell replication and aging and how as we age we tend to get more and more "mutations".
As Alan Alda said in a Scientific American Frontiers show, it's like copying copies in a copying machine. Each time you copy a copy, the quality gets worse. So, even though the cells are new, they are not the same as the originals, we call this "aging". This was also the show on nematodes and telomeres for those of you that saw it. Here is the transcript http://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript1003.htm
Anyway, I digress, I was reading about bones back then and was surprised to learn that our bones are recreated on a seven year cycle (this article says 10, whatever).
I was thinking if I was surprised to learn at just how "young" our bones are, some others may also find this interesting. It seems that we are finding out more and more every day.
Here's an article to get you started.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/science/02cell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
As Alan Alda said in a Scientific American Frontiers show, it's like copying copies in a copying machine. Each time you copy a copy, the quality gets worse. So, even though the cells are new, they are not the same as the originals, we call this "aging". This was also the show on nematodes and telomeres for those of you that saw it. Here is the transcript http://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript1003.htm
Anyway, I digress, I was reading about bones back then and was surprised to learn that our bones are recreated on a seven year cycle (this article says 10, whatever).
I was thinking if I was surprised to learn at just how "young" our bones are, some others may also find this interesting. It seems that we are finding out more and more every day.
Here's an article to get you started.
Your Body Is Younger Than You Think
Whatever your age, your body is many years younger. In fact, even if you're middle aged, most of you may be just 10 years old or less.
This heartening truth, which arises from the fact that most of the body's tissues are under constant renewal, has been underlined by a novel method of estimating the age of human cells. Its inventor, Jonas Frisen, believes the average age of all the cells in an adult's body may turn out to be as young as 7 to 10 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/science/02cell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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