Genetics Question

Mircea Grelus

Seriously, it can. It regenerates blood cells, skin, bones, and it probably had the ability to regenerate other more complex parts, but it probably lost it through evolution. There is regenerative medicine that studies this right now, but we can't understand much so far. You know about the man who had his finger regenerated using pig bladder right? Here is more lecture: Humans can regrow fingers?[^]

Cheers, Mircea "Pay people peanuts and you get monkeys" - David Ogilvy

martin_hughes

I almost posted this in my original post, but chickened out... I will lose two fingers on my left hand due to a nerve disorder :(

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martin_hughes

But we all do stupid things, Marc - like that time you drilled through a live power line! (Actually, that's all suposition based on my dad who, as a Phd, managed to do the same!)

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l a u r e n

shame man ... that's awful ... but think of the positive ... you still have the rest and you have the rest of your health ... it's not nice at all but things could be far far worse :rose:

"mostly watching the human race is like watching dogs watch tv ... they see the pictures move but the meaning escapes them"

Gary Kirkham

Mircea Grelus wrote:

but it probably lost it through evolution.

No it didn't.

Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read

Mircea Grelus

I'm really sorry to hear that. Isn't there any medical solution for the problem? Even in a scientific, researched state? Do the doctors know a lot about this condition? I'm really sorry mate.

Cheers, Mircea "Pay people peanuts and you get monkeys" - David Ogilvy

Marc Clifton

martin_hughes wrote:

like that time you drilled through a live power line!

I don't remember doing that!

martin_hughes wrote:

But we all do stupid things, Marc

Yes, but we don't usually do stupid things that require body part regeneration, beyond what the body can do fairly well on its own already--bones, cuts, etc. Marc

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Christian Graus

I guess the other question is, why do we age ? The answer probably is, if we were indestructable, and we could still breed, the world would have been overpopulated a long time ago.

Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )

Marc Clifton

Mircea Grelus wrote:

It regenerates blood cells, skin, bones,

The liver too. It's an interesting thing--you can remove half a person's liver and it will regenerate. Quite painful, I hear though. Marc

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martin_hughes

Yeah you're right... I only type with two fingers anyway :) Still pisses me off that they won't regrow though. Stupid body.

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Patrick Etc

Christian Graus wrote:

The answer probably is, if we were indestructable, and we could still breed, the world would have been overpopulated a long time ago.

It's simpler than that, really. It's because our evolution never selected for age. Meaning, we always reproduced so young that gracefully aging was never perfected. That's changing nowadays, actually. There's some evidence that even adding a few years to the reproductive cycle adds significant healthy years to the elderly (both tied to improved medical care and increased nutrient availability). I think if we were REALLY long lived, our birth rate would balance out more effectively with death rate. As it is we breed like rabbits because we die so easily and so (relatively) early.

"If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual." - Frank Herbert

martin_hughes

Don't worry about it - in fact your original post was quite funny! Truth be told I've known about what's going to happen for a while, but as the op draws cloaser I get a)more drunk and b) more angry about the inadequcies of my body to regenerate itself. 20-30 years in future I reckon it wouldn't be an issue, but today sadly it is. Ah well.

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Dirk Higbee

Actually, our cells regenerate themselves every 7 years but doctors don't know why we age. One theory is, if you believe in God, as it says in the bible God set the age limit of man to 70-80 years because of all the wickedness in the world. Before that people were living to be 700-900 years old.

If you can read, you can learn

Mircea Grelus

Seriously I'd contact those scientists that were able to regenerate that man's finger, let them know about my condition and see what they think. I've seen a video of theirs but haven't been able to find the link. They've also been able to create an esophagus using pig bladder as well, that when surgically implemented it forces the esophagus to regenerate onto itself.

Cheers, Mircea "Pay people peanuts and you get monkeys" - David Ogilvy

Member 96

It can and does under the right circumstances. You must have missed it, I posted a link here to a very amazing wired science on pbs special on the subject. It was about the most astounding thing I've seen in some time. Here it is..: http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/48-grow_your_own_limbs.html[^] If you click on the "Body Builders" link on the right in the "Featured" section you can watch it online.

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PIEBALDconsult

justfunnin wrote:

700-900 years old.

I heard [citation needed] they may have counted months, not years.

Member 96

Mircea Grelus wrote:

but haven't been able to find the link

See my post in this thread

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt

l a u r e n

i lost the sight in my right eye and was told it wouldnt come back even after they operated to stop me losing the sight in my left eye too ... i know the feelings you have ... i got my sight back (kinda a small miracle) but it made me understand a whole bunch of stuff in life differently :suss:

"mostly watching the human race is like watching dogs watch tv ... they see the pictures move but the meaning escapes them"

Mircea Grelus

Exactly. That's what I was looking for.

Cheers, Mircea "Pay people peanuts and you get monkeys" - David Ogilvy

FyreWyrm

Sorry to hear about your condition Martin. I had a great grandfather who had both of his legs amputated because of a nerve disorder similar to paralysis. I have a degree in genetics and during my classes we talked about this somewhat. The general concensus was humans cannot regenerate full body parts because of cell specialization. When a human embryo is forming, the cells being produced are general, all-purpose cells (stem cells). As the embryo grows the cells begin to specialize becoming nerve cells, muscle cells, bone cells, etc. Once the fetus reaches about the third trimester almost all of the stem cells have become specialized. The closest thing to a stem cell in a newborn is the proto-cells in bone marrow (which produce blood cells throughout our life). So the answer to your question in short, we can't regenerate because we don't have any general cells to form specialized cells from. There are few specialized cells in the body that can divide. Skin cells, liver cells, bone marrow cells, and cancer cells are the only ones that I can think of that can reproduce. Contrary to popular belief, muscle cells DO NOT divide. Does any of that make sense? As for the "why do we age" question: three words "Programmed Cell Death". Believe it or not, our DNA is actually designed to kill us. We get wrinkles and saggy skin because the collagen and elastin protiens in our skin (which keep it tight) break down over time and our skin cells are not programmed to replenish it. Our bodies age because the cells in our organs are not programmed to mass reproduce and renew themselves. The few types of cells we have that can replenish themselves have a mechanism in them so that they only reproduce a preset number of times. After that, they die. Programmed Cell Death. And that concludes today's lecture.