The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Research Breakthrough on the Question of Life Expectancy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100805103910.htm
ScienceDaily (Aug. 5, 2010) — Why do we grow old and what can we do to
stop it? This is the question asked by many, but it appears that we
are now closer to an answer thanks to new research published by Monash
University researcher Dr Damian Dowling.
According to the research published in the August edition of the
journal, The American Naturalist, a small set of genes in mitochondria
(a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells), passed
only from mothers to offspring, plays a more dynamic role in
predicting life expectancies than ever previously anticipated.
The research discovered that particular mitochondrial haplotypes were
linked to the life expectancies of females in the beetle species
Callosobruchus maculatus.
"What we found in these beetles that some combinations of
mitochondrial and nuclear genomes confer long life in virgin females,
but these are not the same combinations that result in long life in
females that mate once, or in females that mate many times," Dr
Dowling said.
"Clearly, the genetic determinants underlying life expectancies are complex.
"As we unravel this complexity, we draw closer to the day in which we
might use the genetic information encoded in the mitochondria to
assist in the development of therapies that slow the onset of ageing
in humans," Dr Dowling said.
In animals, most of the genetic material that controls bodily
functions is found inside the cell nucleus. This is the nuclear genome
-- it is passed on from generation to generation through both mothers
and fathers, and it encodes somewhere between 14 thousand and 40
thousand proteins.
However, a separate genome exists that is found only within the
energy-producing factories of our cells -- the mitochondria. To put
things in perspective, the mitochondrial genome is tiny, encoding just
13 proteins. Despite being so small, it can pack a punch when it comes
to its ability to affect a range of fundamental biological processes.
Dr Dowling, a research fellow at Monash University's School of
Biological Sciences led the research together with Goran Arnqvist of
Uppsala University Sweden and their student, Tejashwari Meerupati,
made the discovery.
"Our findings are part of a much broader research agenda in which we
are elucidating the ways in which mitochondrial genomes have shaped
our evolutionary past and present. What we are finding is that natural
variation in this diminutive genome results in a huge range of effects
on metabolism, mating behaviour and reproductive biology, including
male fertility," Dr Dowling said.
"At the outset of our research program, we suspected that the
evolutionary significance of the mitochondria had probably been
underestimated by scientists that have come before us, but even we
have been continually surprised by the magnitude and ubiquity of the
effects that we have uncovered.
"We suspect that this genome still harbours many more secrets awaiting
discovery," Dr Dowling said.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by
ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Monash University.
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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