>> cellular aging can be put on hold by the introduction
>> of a recently cloned gene.'' The scientists announced the cloning of
>> the telomerase gene in August. Shay says telomerase freezes a
>> molecular mechanism that controls cellular aging - the progressive
>> shortening of telomeres.
(snip)
> Perhaps this 'enzyme gene' could be duplicated acoustically and tested
> with a volunteer group
My 2 cents about that : telomeres regulate cell aging, not a whole living
being's aging. Main use for telomerase enzyme will be to create long-lived
"normal cell" cultures, and not rely so much on immortal cancerous cell
cultures as biology is doing right now. But to retard aging in the organism
- that's another story. Aging seems to be a vastly more complex processus.
And telomerase manipulation might even be counter-productive. See editorial
of New Scientist, 24 january 1998 :
"There is a strong possibility that telomerase is switched off in cells in
order to reduce the risk of cancer early in life.The researchers' cells may
look healthy but their lust for division could be a double-edged sword."
So I wouldn't take chances with telomerase melodies... BTW, Sternheimer has
an anti-aging melody of some sort : it's the collagen melody. Collagen is a
protein in bones, cartilage and skin. Collagen music basically helps
cicatrization and bone repair, but users (especially female users) have
noticed that long term use seem to reverse skin wrinkles. BUT... Yeah, there
is a BUT ! Excess of collagen may be pathogenic. For example it could
provoke or aggravate "Dupuytren disease" - thorny outgrowth on hands and
feet, impairing movement.
So no miracle musical anti-aging cure yet... Booooo !
Best regards
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Jean-Pierre Lentin
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