In article <176612 at tiger.oxy.edu>, hoopes at oxy.edu (Laura L. M. Hoopes) writes:
|> Since the field of gerontology really lacks a consensus on this issue, I'll
|> just give you my view and hope that others out there will post theirs. I
|> view different ageing rates as differences in the protective/repair capaciti
|> es of different organisms, as determined by their genetic capabilities. The
|> process of ageing itself seems to me to be merely an expression of the secon
|> d law of thermodynamics, but the defenses against this onslaught of the
|> universe are tremendously variable between organisms. Because I am a molec
|> ular biologist, I tend to think most about DNA repair but my mental image of
|> the process of ageing and organismic defenses encompasses organismal respons
|> es, neuroendocrine responses, cellular responses, organellar responses, and
|> responses at the biocchemical level. I am interested in the idea of a cell
|> autonomous ageing clock, but I am not really convinced that such exists.
|> Laura Hoopes
One celled animals devide and I assume age (do they?). Obviously
they do not (at least they all do not) or they'd die out
as a species. Presumable, one celled animals have the same
onslaughts as human cells face from the environment. Why, if
one celled animals do not age, do human cells?
-Jim
sullivan at alw.nih.gov
