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comment by mk
mk  ·  3742 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Google dedicates 1.5b to Anti-aging research

Someone take the idea that b_b and I had and run with it. Hell knows we can't get it funded:

Extract bone marrow from a person when they are young. Freeze it. Transplant it back into the same individual when they are old.

Relatively cheap and easy.





bioemerl  ·  3742 days ago  ·  link  ·  

How is that going to help prevent aging?

Aging is a massive and complex process, bone marrow isn't going to do much except fix one or two issues.

Maybe if we clone, create, and replace every part for every human, but that would be horrendously expensive.

mk  ·  3742 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Marrow is a wellspring of stem and progenitor cells that support a number of systems, like blood, bone, and the immune. It won't be a panacea, but if the procedure can significantly improve quality or extend life, then it won't take much of an effect to make it worth the costs.

Cumol  ·  3733 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Highdea:

What if the immune system (stem cell pool) ages similarly to other parts other systems/organs and becomes more "sloppy" with time (supplies the body with sloppy mature immune cells), allowing the aging cells to survive longer than they would if the immune system is "fresh" or young.

And by introducing "young" stem cells into an aging system, the immune system would overreact to the older systems/cells/organs and cause their death/apoptosis?

For whatever reason, this is making sense right now