Comments on: Science helps old mice age gracefully

By: Greg Webster

Greg Webster — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:26:00 +0000

See also Senesco Technologies, which has been using senescence for food treatment for a while and is in the middle of long-term testing of controlling senescence for cancer treatment, with the potential of chemotherapy that is more effective but doesn’t make people sick.

Disclaimer, I own 3000 shares, which sounds like a lot, but really isn’t. I bought it because I love the idea of not watching people I love suffer through chemo ever again.

By: saurabh

saurabh — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Can’t read the article behind its paywall. I really wish Nature would switch to a PLoS-like charge-the-author model instead of charging the world $30 to read a damn article. Err. Anyway – is there any discussion there of the effects of this treatment on normal mice relative to untreated mice? Also, it should be noted that these mice have the genetic circuit engineered into them – you can’t just pop some pills and kill off your problematic senescent cells this way.

By: hyljelyhje

hyljelyhje — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:52:00 +0000

For a while I thought that a cure were invented for the yellowed plastic of my old commodore 64 but then I read the rest of the post.

(I don’t mean to downplay the research, hopefully they have whole thing figured out before my own casing turns brittle)

By: madopal

madopal — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:24:00 +0000

But what about the poor old trackballs? Don’t they deserve research, too?

By: The Life Of Bryan

The Life Of Bryan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:06:00 +0000

I’m engaged in a similar study, except that mine makes extensive use of athletic equipment and computer programming. So far I’m in better condition, physically and cognitively, than I was ten years ago. However, I haven’t yet been able to replicate these results in mice (or my cats, for that matter).

By: AbleBakerCharlie

AbleBakerCharlie — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:06:00 +0000

In the real write-up, they note that neural cells don’t use the same marker proteins and were exempt from execution. And I suspect that amidst the battery of tests, the rodents suddenly acting brain-dead would have warranted some attention.

By: Dylan Meagher

Dylan Meagher — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:58:00 +0000

I am disappointed with the lack of Mr. Jenkins from The Green Mile.

By: Chrs

Chrs — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:54:00 +0000

The thing that naively concerns me the most is the fact that most populations of neurons have also stopped dividing. It’s likely they operate in a different manner than other cell populations, given their ridiculously high energy usage, but I did notice that there was no cognitive testing in the comparisons here.