[extropy-chat] telomerase immortalized cell lines

[Lifespan Pharma Inc.]

Seems like one would have to insert or activate the telomere 
immortalization feature in a way that
had it switched off and that the switch could be activated  and 
deactivated systemically virtually similtaneously.

The Avantguardian wrote:

>--- "Lifespan Pharma Inc." <megao at sasktel.net> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Am I missing something here or is this a technology
>>with application to 
>>more complex living
>>cell systems?
>>
>>    
>>
>
>Yes and no. Stem cell depletion caused by telomeric
>attrition is a cause of cellular senescence and does
>contribute to the overall phenotype of aging. But
>unfortunately, it is but a single piece of the puzzle.
>It is actually quite easy to make cells immortal. In
>cancer this happens spontaneously. Helen Lang died of
>ovarian cancer several decades ago but her cancer
>cells now called Hela cells are in common use in labs
>throughout the world where they thrive. The trick is
>to get the whole system to be immortal and that means
>being able to carefully monitor and control the growth
>of immortal cells. Elsewise, a group of cells will
>buck the system and defect, reproducing selfishly at
>the expense of the rest of the organism.
>  
>
>The Avantguardian 
>is 
>Stuart LaForge
>alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu
>  
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20050814/38319f4a/attachment.html>