X-Message-Number: 24286
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 08:57:45 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #24282 - #24284

Hi everyone!

Two very interesting comments this time. Brian Hall gives (indirectly)
references to research on how our brains store our memories. I will
look at the sites he lists ASAP; however I would point out also that
synapses last longer than the molecules or even parts making them up.
A theory that says that the CONNECTIVITY of our neurons produces our
memory would not be contradicted by the evidence to which Brian Hall
alludes.

Second, Doug Skrecky comes up with work on obesity suggesting that
in moderation it may not affect lifespan as much as has been thought.
This raises all kinds of questions: calorie-restricted mice are not
just thin, they get all the basic nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc)
in carefully formulated diets. 

However there is a more basic problem which I hope fails to occur.
One reason antioxidants may do less to increase our longevity 
compared to that of a mouse is that we already produce more antioxidants
than mice... enough that adding more for us will do little, even
though they help mice a good deal. Calorie-restriction has been
intensively studied in mice and rats, and now there is a much longer
study continuing with monkeys. That study will necessarily be much
longer because monkeys live much longer than mice or rats, and good
statistics on the lifespans (rather than the metabolism) of calorie-
restricted monkeys will take much longer to get. And you've probably  
guessed what I'll say here: so far we have little reason not to believe
that our own metabolism, as very long-lived mammals, has not already
acquired the special features that calorie-restricted mice only 
get when their food input is restricted. Yes, lots of scientists would
be upset if that turned out to be true.

I'll also add that I take several substances known by experiment to
increase the lifespans of mice and rats. I do so not because I am
strictly sure that they will work, but because I AM strictly sure
that I'm not taking any toxic doses, and with the best evidence we
now have, they MAY increase my lifespan. If we had better data, then
I'd follow it --- but we don't.

               Best wishes and long long life to all,

                  Thomas Donaldson

PS: And incidentally, some of these substances, in the few experiments
yet done, also increase the maximum lifespans of the mice they're tested
on.

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