X-Message-Number: 13928 From: "Scott Badger" <> References: <> Subject: Storing FrozenTissue Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 08:11:07 -0500 Terry Grossman wrote: > The Prospects for Immortality: Human Replacement Parts by Terry > Grossman M.D. ... Scientists start with an individual's own cells > and then direct these cells under laboratory conditions to grow > into the desired organs. ... harvest some cells from these patients > today and store them for their own future use? ... 50 year olds who > store some tissue specimens today would have their own 50 year old > cells to create spare parts for their future use several decades > from now. ... This technology is currently available through > several companies and costs less than $300... only a sample of your > cells are frozen, while you are still alive. This represents an > intermediate step which opens the door to an entirely new vista of > life extension possibilities. It is painless and quite affordable... Congratulations on your book, Dr. Grossman. I intend to purchase a copy. I have a question, though. You indicate that growing an organ from my 50 year old cells will result in a 50 year old organ that I may need when I'm 75. But what about the recent findings of Dr. West (who will be speaking at the Alcor Conference)? I quote from the LEF interview below: ---------------------------------- "Now, in a major new paper published in the April 28, 2000 issue of the journal Science (1), a group led by Dr. Michael West has reported what may be the most revolutionary advance in cloning research so far. They have found that cloning can totally reverse cellular aging." [snip] West: What we observed and reported in the paper in Science is that a gene for the enzyme telomerase that normally keeps our reproductive cells immortal, was activated shortly after the transfer. The level of telomerase was increased far beyond the levels you see in some other immortal cells, such as cancer cells. The telomeres were extended in the same way that a key can be used to wind an old antique clock. Telomerase rewound that clock and interestingly, in our experiments, wound the clock beyond the normal starting point the cells had at the beginning of life, so the telomeres were extended beyond what a normal animal would be born with. LEF: Wow! West: So we then studied what happened to the cells that resulted from that cloned embryo, and we saw that their life span was longer than a normal cow cells' life span. Also, the animals that resulted from this work appeared to be healthy, even though they were cloned from senescent cells, cells that could no longer proliferate. The animals were born, the animals appear to be healthy, and the animals have telomeres longer than a normal animal of the same age, just the opposite of what Ian Wilmut [of Dolly fame] reported. Will this lead to these animals having a longer life span than normal animals? That remains to be seen. We do not know. ------------------------------------------------ If this research pans out, wouldn't it eliminate the need to freeze one's tissues for future use? Sounds like one of my 75-year-old old cells could be undifferentiated back to a totipotent cell, then redifferentiated into whatever tissue is needed and the organ would be young again. Another question I have is how long would it take to grow a liver or a lung or a heart? I hope someone asks Dr. West for his projections on how long before they think they'll perfect this technique at Advanced Cell Technology for the most needed organs. Best regards, Scott Badger Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13928