Saturday, February 28, 2009

Life and Death (Yin and yang)

Does life and death go hand in hand?  What gives life, gives death and vice versa.  What form of death is necessary to be born again (sounds almost biblical)?
Here's an idea (not entirely thought through): How about introducing a virus that carries genetic information that mirrors the genetic information of the individual minus certain information to start a regression?  Then reintroduce the full genetic information at a desired age to kickstart the progression?  Finally, introduce a repeat cycle information.

-- Christie E.

Friday, February 27, 2009

A Look at Biologically immortal species

"Of particular interest is the Turritopsis nurticula.  Life is dynamic and this example is familiar in nature.  The pattern mirrors the universe breathing: expanding and contracting." -- Christie Ewen

Biologically immortal species

Life defined as biologically immortal is still susceptible to causes of death besides aging, including disease and trauma, as defined above. Notable immortal species include:

  • Bacteria (as a colony) — Bacteria reproduce through cell division. A parent bacterium splits itself into two identical daughter cells. These daughter cells then split themselves in half. This process repeats, thus making the bacterium colony essentially immortal.
    Recent research, however, suggests that even bacteria as a colony may eventually die since each succeeding generation is slightly smaller, weaker, and more likely to die than the previous.[11]
  • Hydra can be considered biologically immortal as they do not undergo senescence or aging.
  • Turritopsis nutricula, a jellyfish, after becoming a sexually mature adult, can transform itself back into a child (the polyp stage) using the cell conversion process of transdifferentiation.Turritopsis nutricula repeats this cycle, meaning that it may have an indefinite lifespan.[12]
  • Bristlecone Pines are speculated to be potentially immortal; the oldest known living specimen is over 4800 years old.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Enzymes are catalysts for accleration

While reading about proteins, I came across an interesting fact about enzymes: they act as accelerators.  Perhaps, manipulating the enzymes involved in aging can delay death.