Comments on: A very special Thanksgiving to one and all! http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/11/a-very-special-thanksgiving-to-one-and-all/ Sun, 19 May 2013 15:58:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: fred http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/11/a-very-special-thanksgiving-to-one-and-all/#comment-48618 fred Thu, 22 Nov 2012 23:13:17 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=19133#comment-48618 Thank you. That's an interesting article for me since both my father and grandfather were older when they had children. But I'm not sure whether that answers my specific question. This article discusses my concern that... "Reversion of cells to hiPSC status in many cases results in cells that do not express telomerase and have short telomeres. They are very different in these respects from hESCs. Such cells may be approaching senescence despite their pluripotency, cannot reliably be depended on for such tasks as organ renewal, and cannot be used to close the loop in the stem cell supply chain." http://www.anti-agingfirewalls.com/2010/03/18/telomeres-and-telomerase-in-induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-%E2%80%93-not-what-we-thought/ I've read that when Dolly the sheep was cloned that she was born with older cells and shorter telomeres because the sheep the cells were taken from was already 6 years old. If reprogramming a cell to pluripotency isn't the same as restoring a cells youthfulness then it will cause problems for creating new organs for transplant. And it wouldn't address the issue of Dolly being born with older cells. It would also be problematic for Saitou's technique using reprogrammed pluripotent cells to make eggs. Assuming, of course, that the cellular age of any offspring is dependent on the haploid gametes provided by BOTH parents and not just the father. Any thoughts? Thank you. That’s an interesting article for me since both my father and grandfather were older when they had children. But I’m not sure whether that answers my specific question.

This article discusses my concern that…

“Reversion of cells to hiPSC status in many cases results in cells that do not express telomerase and have short telomeres. They are very different in these respects from hESCs. Such cells may be approaching senescence despite their pluripotency, cannot reliably be depended on for such tasks as organ renewal, and cannot be used to close the loop in the stem cell supply chain.”

http://www.anti-agingfirewalls.com/2010/03/18/telomeres-and-telomerase-in-induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-%E2%80%93-not-what-we-thought/

I’ve read that when Dolly the sheep was cloned that she was born with older cells and shorter telomeres because the sheep the cells were taken from was already 6 years old. If reprogramming a cell to pluripotency isn’t the same as restoring a cells youthfulness then it will cause problems for creating new organs for transplant. And it wouldn’t address the issue of Dolly being born with older cells. It would also be problematic for Saitou’s technique using reprogrammed pluripotent cells to make eggs. Assuming, of course, that the cellular age of any offspring is dependent on the haploid gametes provided by BOTH parents and not just the father. Any thoughts?

]]> By: Little bit http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/11/a-very-special-thanksgiving-to-one-and-all/#comment-48617 Little bit Thu, 22 Nov 2012 20:42:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=19133#comment-48617 My father went AWOL when I was around 4, never looked back. I hated this song for so many years and would turn it off immediately when it came on. All I could think of when I heard it was that my father didn't think I was lovely (or lovable). I really took it to heart. Fast forward to 2005, weeks after the birth of my daughter. There was a heat wave and I was afraid to take her out so we stayed inside with the curtains drawn and the air on. With not much to do, I would sit in the front room watching her sleep with the radio quietly playing, marveling at my perfect, beautiful daughter. And this song came on. I reached up to change the channel but I stopped. I listened to "Isn't She Lovely" all the way through for the first time that day. Isn't she lovely Isn't she wonderful Isn't she precious Yes, she is. She still is and I am thankful. Thanks for reminding me. =) My father went AWOL when I was around 4, never looked back. I hated this song for so many years and would turn it off immediately when it came on. All I could think of when I heard it was that my father didn’t think I was lovely (or lovable). I really took it to heart.

Fast forward to 2005, weeks after the birth of my daughter. There was a heat wave and I was afraid to take her out so we stayed inside with the curtains drawn and the air on. With not much to do, I would sit in the front room watching her sleep with the radio quietly playing, marveling at my perfect, beautiful daughter. And this song came on. I reached up to change the channel but I stopped.

I listened to “Isn’t She Lovely” all the way through for the first time that day.

Isn’t she lovely
Isn’t she wonderful
Isn’t she precious

Yes, she is. She still is and I am thankful. Thanks for reminding me. =)

]]> By: Razib Khan http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/11/a-very-special-thanksgiving-to-one-and-all/#comment-48616 Razib Khan Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:28:36 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=19133#comment-48616 hm. http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/12/kids-of-older-fathers-and-grandfathers-may-inherit-longevity/ hm. http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/12/kids-of-older-fathers-and-grandfathers-may-inherit-longevity/

]]> By: fred http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/11/a-very-special-thanksgiving-to-one-and-all/#comment-48615 fred Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:01:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=19133#comment-48615 Hi. I've never commented on your blog that I recall. But I skim it every now and then. I was wondering if you could help me with an off topic question on genetics. I've read that telemeres get shorter with time and that's one of the reasons we age. I've also read that last month, researcher Mitinori Saitou and his team from Kyoto University in Japan used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state to produce healthy eggs. So my question is: If they reprogrammed adult cells wouldn't the reprogrammed cells have shorter telemeres, too? It seems to me that would be a problem because any child produced with that egg would be born with "old" cells. Can you shed some light on this please? Thank you Hi. I’ve never commented on your blog that I recall. But I skim it every now and then. I was wondering if you could help me with an off topic question on genetics. I’ve read that telemeres get shorter with time and that’s one of the reasons we age. I’ve also read that last month, researcher Mitinori Saitou and his team from Kyoto University in Japan used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state to produce healthy eggs. So my question is: If they reprogrammed adult cells wouldn’t the reprogrammed cells have shorter telemeres, too? It seems to me that would be a problem because any child produced with that egg would be born with “old” cells. Can you shed some light on this please?

Thank you

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