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Also, this fascinates me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa These are cells from a person, Henrietta Lacks, which can be grown in a dish and which keep dividing, for ever.
From Wikipedia article: "The cells were later commercialized, although never patented in their original form." Patenting a human cell? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard.
Spoiler: no.
This is an interesting quote from the article given by another biologist Stefano Piraino, not the main focus of the article. If we did find the secret to immortality, it would be stupid to give it to everyone. In that case, who gets it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hacker News law of Betteridge's law of headlines: If the headline is applicable Betteridge's Law will always be mentioned.
That's because geeks like to back their answers with science (or almost science)
"Increasing human longevity has no meaning, it is ecological nonsense." This is an interesting quote from the article given by another biologist Stefano Piraino, not the main focus of the article. If we did find the secret to immortality, it would be stupid to give it to everyone. In that case, who gets it?
Also, this fascinates me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa These are cells from a person, Henrietta Lacks, which can be grown in a dish and which keep dividing, for ever.
HeLa cells are certainly the most famous. It should be noted that the HeLa stocks used in most labs now are radically different from original HeLa stocks.
Even in routine experiments, you have to keep a bunch of cells frozen in liquid nitrogen to replenish your "working stock" of cells. After around 30-40 passages (e.g. generations of cells), most immortalized cell lines start to get funky with mutations and exhibit different behaviors. You kill them off and go back to your frozen stocks to get back to the "original" genetics.
"Increasing human longevity has no meaning, it is ecological nonsense." This is an interesting quote from the article given by another biologist Stefano Piraino, not the main focus of the article. If we did find the secret to immortality, it would be stupid to give it to everyone. In that case, who gets it?
"Increasing human longevity has no meaning, it is ecological nonsense." This is an interesting quote from the article given by another biologist Stefano Piraino, not the main focus of the article. If we did find the secret to immortality, it would be stupid to give it to everyone. In that case, who gets it?
Also, this fascinates me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa These are cells from a person, Henrietta Lacks, which can be grown in a dish and which keep dividing, for ever.
From Wikipedia article: "The cells were later commercialized, although never patented in their original form." Patenting a human cell? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4438032.html
These cell lines do not exist in nature and what is patented was the creation of a new immortalized cell line.