Faithful as the brain cells
Research from Karolinska Institute in Sweden haves shown some significant results:
• the cells of the liver take an approximate of two years to be totally replaced by newer ones
• cells in the main body of your gut are about 15.9 years old but cells covering the inside of the stomach live only a few days
• the outer layer of skin is renewed every other week
• the skeleton is thought to be completely renewed once every ten years or so
• cells from your rib muscles last an average of 15.1 years
• red blood cells last about 120 days, on average
• liver regenerates completely every 300 to 500 days
• entire skeleton is replaced about once every 10 years
What influences the rate of your cells regeneration? It depends on the cell's function in your body and at least partly on how hard it must work. Skin, for instance gets renewed so often because it’s constantly being assaulted by outside elements.
But what about the cells that stay with us for a lifetime? Research have shown that the nerve cells of the brain remain the same throughout a person's life. When looking into the brain cells, all of the samples taken from the visual cortex, the region responsible for processing sight, were as old as the subjects themselves, supporting the idea that these cells do not regenerate. Similar results for cerebellum, whose role is coordinating body movements. The reason these cells live so long is probably that they need to be wired in a very stable way. However, They found that new neurons are created in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory. So it seems that even certain areas of your brain are capable of regenerating.
The cells in your body(other than brain cells) that are thought to stay with you for a lifetime (and do not regenerate) are, in fact, quite limited and include:
• the cells of your eyes inner lens
• possibly the muscle cells of your heart
Aging theory
Why then, if the body remains so eminently capable of renewing its tissues, doesn't the regeneration continue forever? Some scientists believe this is explained by the accumulation of mutations in the DNA, which gradually degrades its information. Another theory blames mitochondrial DNA, which lack the repair mechanisms available for the chromosomes, whilst a third theory postulates that stem cells, which are the source of new cells in each tissue, eventually grow feeble with age.
Q:
What do you think about aging? Do you think that it should be treated like a disease? Do you think that people should live forever?
I recommend you this movie If you are interested:
L:
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21719/page1/
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=198208§ioncode=26
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/10/31/how-old-are-the-cells-in-your-body--amp-which-can-and-cant-be-renewed.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iYpxRXlboQ&hl=pl
Aging is a natural thing which we cannot stop, but I think that in not distance future when we will have methods to deal with cancer there will be methods to significantly extend our lives.
ReplyDeleteWho wants to live forever? Well, everybody. Because everybody is mortal and we are afraid what's next. Does human life can be prolonged - yes, it's happening now. Will we ever become immortal - no, not in a way we live now.
ReplyDeleteAging is a natural thing, and I do not want to live forever. I just would like that everybody could live at least 100 years. I cannot imagine world that no body can die naturally. Can you imagine how many people would be then after 1000 years? I cannot.
ReplyDeleteKrzysztof Paprota:
ReplyDeleteand what about you? would you like to live forever?
To live at least 100 years in good health condition sounds interesting... But we can't forget that death is natural biological way to protect the natural balance in our environment, even in case of human being.
ReplyDeleteI think that aging is a natural process of a human kind. Humans are suppose to age and less we influence our bodies from the outside, more healthy we age. Some parts of our bodies recover faster then the others, but there are explanations behind that. Human body is like a machine, it is a very detailed mechanism, where everything works together, and everything happens for the reason. There are medications and ways to prolong humans life but what real difference does it make if one lives 85 or 89 years? In my opinion there is time for everything and once the time for me to die comes I will be ready.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the preceding comments, that aging is a natural thing. I think that people shouldn’t live forever, but they should go by the one of the basic rules – to preserve the human kind. So, eternal life for an entity – no, but for a human race – theoretically yes, practically people will doom themselves.
ReplyDelete