posted
....So almost every cell in our bodies has a limited lifespan and then is presumably replaced by a new one.
I just read (and now can't find) a post that quoted a doctor as stateing something to the effect that "how well we feel can be correlated to the amount of foreign DNA/RNA bits and pieces found in our cells" and I believe this was directly related to our red blood cells. Also stated was that by the time we die, we have approximately 50% of this foreign crap in us.
So my questions:
If our cells are being replaced how would we get the end-of-life overload?
For infections of the blood and others, would the old procedure of blood-letting actually have medicinal value?
Can we not make a device that would screen our blood for these cells which are over-run and weed them out?
Just ruminating, would love some opinions.
Posts: 294 | From nevada | Registered: Sep 2005
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
That was my post of a few days ago. I don't think there is much we can do about it. We evolve. Gitte Jensen, now in Oregon I believe, is the researcher on this. Maybe you can find some info on internet or other publications.
What is DNA?
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people. The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences.
DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Together, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are arranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is somewhat like a ladder, with the base pairs forming the ladder's rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces of the ladder.
An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell.
Take care.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
AGING and DISEASES cause mitochondrial damage.
This ultimately is our demise.
The various cells have different #s of mitochondria (powerhouses).
Our liver has 2000 mitochondria PER CELL! The most of any cell.
Cells live from days to months. Each time a new cell is formed it has either fewer or the "right" number of mitochondria.
It depends if the nutrients to make a healthy cell are in supply AND the current state of affairs re: free radicals (mostly lone oxygen molecules).
Cancer cells contain very few mitochondria.
They divide wildly...out of control. DNA damage.
DNA is held loosely together by hydrogen bonds.
Hydrogen IS the most powerful anti-oxidant.
AND what can stimulate (notice I said STIMULATE) DNA repair?
All together now... ;-)
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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