I keep bringing stories like this up because the animal rights movement’s propaganda has seriously eroded the public’s support for animal research–not to the point that a majority oppose it–but the numbers should be limited to strict animal rightists, and it’s not. In any event, using genetically altered mice, scientists think they have found the cause of aging. From the story:
The Newcastle team, working with the University of Ulm in Germany, used a comprehensive “systems biology” approach, involving computer modelling and experiments with cell cultures and genetically modified mice, to investigate why cells become senescent. In this aged state, cells stop dividing and the tissues they make up show physical signs of deterioration, from wrinkling skin to a failing heart.
The research, published by the journal Molecular Systems Biology, shows that when an ageing cell detects serious damage to its DNA – caused by the wear and tear of life – it sends out specific internal signals. These distress signals trigger the cell’s mitochondria, its tiny energy-producing power packs, to make oxidising “free radical” molecules, which in turn tell the cell either to destroy itself or to stop dividing. The aim is to avoid the damaged DNA that causes cancer.
Huh, I thought this stuff never had an “aim.” But I digress. It seems from this story that aging is a by product of a fail safe process by which cells destroy themselves in order to prevent cancer, and eventually the “cure” produces the same result as the avoided disease–only much later.
Without animal research as part of the usual integrated scientific approach, this potentially crucial information just could not have been found, nor the beneficial medical products likely to flow from this basic life science discovery, ever developed.
Oh, and for you transhumanists that think this will lead to your living forever–sorry:
The answer is complex, and will not produce an elixir of eternal life in the foreseeable future.
But it could lead to better treatments to make our mortal lives more healthy and vigorous. Hurray.
February 16th, 2010 | 12:53 pm
‘Huh, I thought this stuff never had an “aim.” ‘
What they call basic or “pure” research doesn’t usually have an aim as specific or concrete as, say, drug testing. Sometimes there is a fairly specific area they’re checking, and they may infer some cause/effect (which is pretty close to applied research).
But generally they’re just trying to gain knowledge that helps us understand something we didn’t before. With luck some scientist doing applied research reads the paper and says, “Hey, I could do something with that.”
This is not something that’s going to be well understood by the general public. Animal rights folks often take advantage of that to criticize basic research on animals, because the results can be pretty arcane. But, for example, most of what we know about the AIDS virus derives from basic research (using animals) that wasn’t specifically looking for a cure for AIDS.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
padraig: I know that, and in fact, write about it in my new book. I was taking a jibe at the “aim” of a biological function to get a rise out of the anti DI folks out there.
February 16th, 2010 | 3:33 pm
Here you go again.
Anti-animal research folks do not say there is no aim, they simply show that animal research does not predict human response, nor does it predict response between other animals. It’s like playing russian roulette with human lives when the stuff is up for human trials.
You watch every animal research breakthrough you see in the news and ask yourself why you never hear about it again. It’s because it doesn’t work or kills humans.
All animals differ from each other at the cellular level. These results in mice likely will not transfer to rats let alone humans. Keep your eyes open.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Corvus, that is baloney. Animal research is vital to scientific and medical progress. You can say it is unethical, and that can be discussed. But you can’t write what you did without either being ignorant or without intellectual integrity.
Animal research isn’t supposed to be 100% predictive. That’s not its purpose. And no medical product goes directly from animal testing to human clinical use. If you want to learn the ways in which animals are properly used in research–and the tremendous benefit they provide–read my book.
February 16th, 2010 | 3:45 pm
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February 16th, 2010 | 8:19 pm
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February 16th, 2010 | 11:03 pm
No thanks on the book. I don’t think I want to spend any time of my life reading more of your garbage when you can’t even be bothered to address the points I made within a few sentences.
When you have an example of one of these breakthroughs in other animals actually being applied to humans you be sure to let me know.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
It’s in my book Corvus. Also in articles I have written if you care to find them. Also in Conn’s book on the animal rights terrorism against researchers. I know you are not interested in learning. You have a belief system that guides your views.
February 16th, 2010 | 11:29 pm
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February 17th, 2010 | 12:58 pm
I’m trained as a chemist and worked as an organic chemist for three years at the university. Several of the faculty members dealt with animal studies – One did studies on Alzheimer’s using mice. Because of his studies we have a little more information on tau protein and how this marker is related to Alzheimer’s in patients. Another professor who had labs both there an at the medical school works with MRI contrast agents and diabetes research. Contrast agents allow doctors to see tumors and other anomalies when people receive an MRI, however, the safety and efficacy was tested first on mice and on dogs or chimps. If there are any side effects, the chemists refine the chemistry. Everything is done before the animal tests to ensure safety because obviously no one wants the animals to die but no one really wants humans to die so animals are tested before humans.
Sometimes we don’t know the side effects of drugs until they go through the metabolic pathway, and thankfully some mammals have a very similar metabolic pathway to ours.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Indeed Heather. And we use those animals in testing various drugs or products that have the greatest similarity, but not those that don’t. It’s very empirical.
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