Vital Signs

Gene therapy is coming. Get ready for some mind blowing stuff…

This certainly blows my mind. Last week scientists from The Institute for Healthy Ageing at University College in London published a study that showed how researchers were able to successfully extend the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and reduce the number of age related diseases overall by manipulating their genes to stop producing a special type of protein called S6 Kinase or, S6K1 for short.

Researchers have long studied the effects of reducing calorie intake and its relationship to longevity. By reducing calorie intake by 30%, rats, mice and more recently primates, have been shown to live much longer healthier lives and have far less incidence of age related diseases. Those smart people in London have in essence produced the same effect through genetic manipulation with…are you seated?? NO REDUCTION IN CALORIE INTAKE!

This truly is revolutionary stuff. My favorite quote comes from a researcher in an article written by Jean-Louis Santini, “The mice lived longer, were leaner, more active and generally healthier than the control group. We added life to their years as well as years to their lives.” You can read the full story here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091002/wl_uk_afp/healthscienceusbritainbiology/print

 This does raise some interesting questions though. Surely this has potential to help increase the length and quality of life. Once again though, I must sprinkle in some truth here. The lazy person’s pill is a few more years down the road. In the mean time, get yourself in shape. Personally, when medicine perfects this technology- and they will as long as we don’t destroy ourselves- I want to be waiting in peak condition. What would you do with an extra 50 to 75 years to live? Hmmm…