Blood cells from 80-year-old donor become stem cells with molecular age under 20

 (doi.org)

69 points | by arunc 1 hour ago

4 comments

  • layer8 1 hour ago
    If something like this ever becomes a practical application on the organismal level, the octogenarian dictators of the world will rejoice.
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    • EA-3167 50 minutes ago
      I’d be far more worried about this causing turbo cancer than immortality in dictators.
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      • King-Aaron 47 minutes ago
        It might be beneficial if it gives turbo cancer to the dictators, of course.
    • torben-friis 45 minutes ago
      Eh, we might see some benefit to leaders having a reason to care about stuff 10+ years from now.
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      • axus 32 minutes ago
        That'll be the commoners' problem; they'll be planning out how to survive the next 300 years.
    • moralestapia 1 hour ago
      To expand, we might find out the hard way that having an expiration date was a feature of our species, not a flaw.
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      • suslik 4 minutes ago
        Of course it's a feature; it still doesn't mean it cannot be stopped or considerably postponed.
      • dyauspitr 30 minutes ago
        That’s a coping mechanism because we can’t change it.
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        • hootz 19 minutes ago
          Wasn't death a requirement for us to reach this current stage of human evolution? I don't think it is a good idea to stop it entirely.
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          • jeremyjh 15 minutes ago
            Evolution of humans by natural selection is already over with - or at least proceeding at time scales irrelevant to our civilization.
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      • LoganDark 46 minutes ago
        Indeed; the biggest reason is surely cancer.
      • lilycarranza999 45 minutes ago
        [dead]
    • yieldcrv 1 hour ago
      and the bourgeoisie, a temporary regulation would be needed in those areas of the world to separate the upper class from the capability of the rulers

      in western nations where that’s not possible, I could see national bans, but one weak link globally and everyone wealthy will get their treatment there

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      • SOLAR_FIELDS 59 minutes ago
        The world of Altered Carbon seems more and more possible every day.
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        • Bluestein 36 minutes ago
          My goodness, what a show that was.-
      • Loughla 42 minutes ago
        An undying trillionaire class definitely sounds like a possible future. Not an ideal one, mind you, but definitely in the realm of possibilities.

        I'm calling it now, Qatar will be the place that allows these treatments once they're a real thing.

        I have to imagine the Uber wealthy are pouring money into youthful longevity science.

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      • lilycarranza999 45 minutes ago
        [dead]
    • lilycarranza999 45 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • sgnelson 7 minutes ago
    My nightmare is that we solve aging just in time for the Baby Boomers to live forever.
  • inshard 38 minutes ago
    Slightly tangential: Michael Levin’s work on bioelectricity and cell reprogramming is pretty interesting in context of emergent behaviors in groups of cells. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Levin_(biologist)
  • m463 1 hour ago 

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    sigh.
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