X-Message-Number: 23921
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 08:49:44 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #23914 - #23920

For Doug Skrecky:

This is one of the first messages I remember you putting on Cryonet
which does more than tell us about the lifespan of fruit flies when
fed different substances. You're probably not an owner of my book,
but basically I find it hard to get interested in a lifespan 
result unless it's been shown to work on a group of healthy mammals.
Even so, a short lived fish is a big step from fruit flies.

Getting any animal accepted as a standard research subject (as mice
and rats have been accepted for years). There is amammal which 
has a shorter lifespan than mice. So far it hasn't been accepted
as a standard research subject, probably because its lifespan is 
"only" half that of normal mice and the work to get it accepted
doesn't repay the benefits.

So how easy are these fish to get and keep? Is there any place
at all where they have captive fish generally? Does the lab
studying them still keep them, or was it a temporary project?
Results with these fish would likely be more significant for
us than any with fruit flies (even for scientists who look at
the genetics of aging, or try to, the genes involved don't match
well enough between humans and fruitflies to draw any strong
--- rather than just suggestive --- conclusions from treatments
of fruit flies).

               Best wishes and long long life for all,

                    Thomas Donaldson

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