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Age Reduction Breakthrough?

joshmitteldorf.scienceblog.com

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Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#131

Post by nardi »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #113
maxander wrote: post #63

Since it seems like the upshot of all of this is that Katcher is claiming to have discovered a set of signalling molecules which, when injected, rejuvenate tissue and presumably lengthen life, it runs into one of the most fundamental objections that can be leveled at theory of aging (or cure thereof): of the billions of humans that have existed, how is it that none of them have possessed a mutation which (in this cas…

To put it simply, a population with aging is more fit than a population without. The speed at which beneficial mutations in a population reach saturation in the gene pool is a function of the number of generations that have gone by. So we can expect some downward selective pressure on lifespan.

I'm not an evolutionary biologist, but why wouldn't the selection pressure be related to the speed at which offspring are produced, and not the age of the parent? And why wouldn't a parent that lives a long time and thus produces more offspring be evolutionarily fit?

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#132

Post by ahunhc8282 »

ken wrote: post #123
eganist wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…

Probably, yes. I turn 40 this month, and was recently told by someone who just met me that I look 25. What exactly am I supposed to do differently now?

Ignore benign random behaviors and continue to apply your agency as you see fit?

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#133

Post by eganist »

ken wrote: post #123
eganist wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…

Probably, yes. I turn 40 this month, and was recently told by someone who just met me that I look 25. What exactly am I supposed to do differently now?

I'm sorry, my programming is limited. I'm unable to answer your question.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#134

Post by Medicalidiot »

floatrock wrote: post #55

> Most of the explosion in aging research (and virtually all the venture capital startups) are looking to treat aging at the cellular level.... The truth, as Katcher understands it, is that, to a large extent, aging is coordinated system-wide via signal molecules in the blood. So the SV execs with their fit young blood-bois were right all along?

Signaling within the body is a cascade-like phenomenon where every step gets progressively more enhanced. It makes more sense to target upstream events since one can use less to have a stronger response.

A classic example of this is nasal steroids for seasonal allergies versus histamine blockers. Steroids will actually cause the genes that code for histamine/inflammatory proteins that are released by the cells to be downregulated. Whereas antihistamines bind to the histamine receptor at the penultimate step in the process. Steroids have a much stronger effect and are the current first line treatment for allergic rhinitis.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#135

Post by lm28469 »

holtalanm wrote: post #128
commandlinefan wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first thought too - maybe it's just wishful thinking, but the bible does talk about people who lived for thousands of years. We're prone to dismiss this as hyperbole from uneducated ancients, but maybe they actually did exist and this sort of thing was why.

> the bible does talk about people who lived for thousands of years I don't remember anyone mentioned living for _thousands_ of years. There are plenty of characters that live for hundreds, though. It is believed that Abraham lived to the age of 175, while I believe there was one character that lived into the 300's, but I do not recall their name. It has been a while since I delved into the old testament.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah

> Said to have died at the age of 969, he lived the longest of all figures mentioned in the Bible.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#136

Post by ativzzz »

ryandvm wrote: post #95
throw1234651234 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with not wanting to die?

Being dead is basically the equivalent experience as not having been born. I'm not terribly upset about all the things I missed before 1977 AD. Not sure why I should be too worried about what I'll miss when I'm gone.

> Being dead is basically the equivalent experience as not having been born

Completely untrue. Maybe as an individual, but your impact on other humans is the biggest difference. Particularly if you have children, there is no equivalence.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#137

Post by mortenjorck »

eganist wrote: post #70
maxander wrote: post #63

Since it seems like the upshot of all of this is that Katcher is claiming to have discovered a set of signalling molecules which, when injected, rejuvenate tissue and presumably lengthen life, it runs into one of the most fundamental objections that can be leveled at theory of aging (or cure thereof): of the billions of humans that have existed, how is it that none of them have possessed a mutation which (in this cas…

At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…

This implies a sort of binary between "normal" aging and vampire-like eternal youth, but if these mutations do exist within the population, their practical effects are likely far more nuanced due to confounding factors.

There would almost certainly be a continuum, perhaps following a power law. The top quartile might be the "40 not looking a day over 25," while the top 0.1% might be true Dorian Greys.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#138

Post by fortran77 »

parentheses wrote: post #92
throw_away wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_Earth

One of the only movies that remains intriguing throughout despite being basically a single conversation.

What about "My Dinner with Andre?" That's exactly a single conversation.

And so is, mostly, "Rope."

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#139

Post by fortran77 »

pvijeh wrote: post #130
eganist wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At risk of sounding absolutely insane: There's probably no way to prove that this hasn't happened. Anyone who realizes they're not aging normally would likely have taken on a new identity elsewhere for fear of: 1. being burned at the stake 2. being trialed in repeated experiments 3. being deified, and then subsequently being burned at the stake. --- I realize my comment sounds like a joke, but I'm entirely serious. I…

this person exists--- his name is Jared Leto.

I was thinking Jon Bon Jovi.

Re: Age Reduction Breakthrough?

#140

Post by downerending »

ativzzz wrote: post #129
hackinthebochs wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put it simply, a population with aging is more fit than a population without. The speed at which beneficial mutations in a population reach saturation in the gene pool is a function of the number of generations that have gone by. So we can expect some downward selective pressure on lifespan.

So then, once a population reaches "ideal" mutations, if that is possible, then wouldn't the opposite start happening?

There is no static ideal. The total environment is incessantly changing, and organisms are constantly adapting.
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