on Sep 8th, 2006Life Span and Stem Cells Link to Your Longevity
A gene that controls the production of stem cells apears to play a crucial role in determining just how long we all live. Stem cell research under the current administration is being used to appease the right wing zealots, so it’s up to you how to vote in the coming elections. Life or death. Your vote counts.
Biologists have uncovered a deep link between life span and cancer in the form of a gene that switches off stem cells as a person ages.
The critical gene, well known for its role in suppressing tumors, seems to mediate a profound balance between life and death. It weighs the generation of new replacement cells, required for continued life, against the risk of death from cancer, which is the inevitable outcome of letting cells divide. To offset the increasing risk of cancer as a person ages, the gene gradually reduces the ability of stem cells to proliferate.
Gene Called Link Between Life Span and Cancers
By NICHOLAS WADE
New York Times, September 7, 2006