X-Message-Number: 26330
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 08:53:18 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: fruit flies weak models for our aging?

Doug Skrecky's reference to a paper showing that REMOVAL  of part 
of a fruit flies brain increases their lifespan suggests how much
mammals differ from fruit flies, and thus how weak lifespan results
on fruit flies are from life span results on mammals. This issue arises
from the effect of removing the ability of the fruit flies to make
insulin-like metabolic factors. 

The critical issue is that some gerontologists believe that similar
factors in our own metabolism account for the lifespan results 
with Human Growth Hormone: INCREASING their level, such a theory says,
will also increase lifespan. No lifespan experiment showing this
seems to have yet been done; this is why I don't mention it at
all in my GUIDE. (I'm happy to get the paper if anyone asks for
it ---  it's in the pile of papers I've kept, not for saying 
something important in itself, but for what they suggest).

            Best wishes and long long life to all,

                 Thomas Donaldson

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