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Goodbye, Dolly

goombah99 writes "Dolly, the famous cloned sheep has been put to death after being diagnosed with a progressive lung disease, according to many reports. This follows on earlier reports that she was prematurely aging, including developing arthritis. While one should be cautious about drawing conclusions from a single data point, its interesting to speculate." Here is a link to her birthplace courtesy of Captain Large Face

18 of 365 comments (clear)

  1. Re:GoodBye Dolly... by Slightly+Askew · · Score: 3, Informative

    I believe that would be mutton. Lamb chops are less than 18 months old. Dolly's chops would be, uh, less than desirable at her age.

    --
    Public use of any portable music system is a virtually guaranteed indicator of sociopathic tendencies. -- Zoso
  2. Etiology still pending by Doctor+Beavis · · Score: 5, Informative

    Although the shortening of her telomeres is well-publicized, it very well may have had nothing to do with the death. A somewhat more detailed story can be found here [Reuters].

  3. Re:First clone by interiot · · Score: 4, Informative

    The main suspected "kink" are the telomeres, and if we do discover it's a kink, it may be a difficult one to work around. Here's a good article on telomeres and telomerase.

  4. Happy Valentine's Day, Nigs!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Death By A Thousand CLITs up in da hizzle, nizzle -- fuck all y'all hataz

    I've been through two marriages in the past. My first wife died at an early age of 29 from a massive heart attack and my second marriage was a nightmare from hell, that I'm now free of. When I met Jeanie, I knew I had to take it slow and easy.

    Jeanie was a very nice lady in her early 40's. I myself was a few years older. Jeanie had two lovely girls. I had no children. I grew to love Jeanie and her girls and a few years later we were married.

    When I met Jeanie, one of her girls was a senior in high school. Anna was six months from graduation. She was good a good looking, bright student, but very spoiled. We got along fine and a few years after Jeanie and I were wed, Anna started calling me Dad.

    Jeanie's other daughter was living with her Dad some 1200 miles away. I didn't get to meet her till a few weeks before the wedding. When I met Dawn, I knew she was the free spirit of the family. Dawn was 4 years older then Anna, more mature and for sure, sexier. I'll have to be honest and admit that she did catch my eye and stirred reactions in my loins. She was a flirter and over time she did cause me to jack off thinking of her, many times.

    When Anna graduated from High school, Dawn moved back home that summer. Her and Anna were going to go to college in the fall. The school was a few hundred miles away and they would room together. It was during that summer that my lust for Dawn sprouted.

    I have a job that gives me the summers off. Jeanie worked days and so did Anna. Dawn was a bartender, so it meant she was home during the days with me. I didn't know if Dawn was actually showing off for me, or if that was who she was and how she acted. I was naive, so I decided it was for my benefit. She did dress more provocative when we were alone, then when others were around. Dawn was a beautiful girl. Her long curly reddish hair would swirl around her shoulders and shine in the light. The color of her hair also brought out her green eyes. Eyes that could rule me. Her lips were full and I fantasized many times about having them wrapped around my aching cock. Dawn was about 5'6" and I would guess under weight for her height. Her long legs, hips and breasts combined to makeup a very sexy body. I know I was married to her Mom, but this vixen was turning me on and I was wasting good cum into a Kleenex. It was a long... hot... exciting... summer.

    Fall came and we moved the girls into there dorm room. Anna and Dawn were grateful for my help. Both girls hugged me, but Dawn's hug was more. It was done when Jeanie and Anna had left the dorm room and was very seductive. She hugged and squeezed me like she was saying goodbye to a lover. Her warm, sexy body made my cock grow hard instantly as she pressed against me. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and a very wicked smile as she backed up and said, "Thanks Daddy!"

    Over the 4 years they were away at school, the flirting grew and became more intense. I, as Dawn's Stepdad, should of put a stop to it, but I couldn't, or wouldn't. I enjoyed it and even encouraged it. I was excited that a beautiful, young, sexy girl would find me attractive enough to want to flirt with me and perhaps want more?

    Dawn had no serious relationships during her college years. I assumed it was because she worked and studied hard. She was a smart girl and carried an "A" average. Dawn planned to pursue her education by going after her Masters Degree.

    Anna had a boyfriend and planned to move with him to Lansing, MI. Jeanie and I helped her move in June, soon after graduation. Dawn stayed in the apartment they had shared until Aug. , when she put her stuff in storage and went to find a place to stay in the new town her school was in. She found a nice 1 bedroom apartment. Dawn then came home and we made plans to move her. We rented a Ryder truck, got a ride to her stored stuff, then proceeded to load up.

    When we were finished and before we ate and left town, Dawn wanted to shower at her friends house. She said, "please Daddy, I feel so sweaty. "

    What could I do. I'd do anything for her.

    I took a short walk while I waited and when I returned Dawn was just coming out of her friends place. She looked like she was going to a party. All made up and dressed to kill. I couldn't figure out what was going on and I also didn't care. My cock was growing and by the time I got to her, it was at full hardness.

    "I can see your happy to see me Daddy! I hope the wait wasn't to long for you?" Dawn added.

    I tried to stop my eyes from ogling her body, but I couldn't. She was wearing a black silk blouse, knee length skirt with nylon stockings. Her lips were a soft shade of red and she smelled fantastic. I had never seen this side of my stepdaughter before. Oh don't get me wrong. I've seen her dressed up before and looking nice, but today she was more then that. She had this mature sexiness about her. Let's face it, she was downright gorgeous. It was going to be a long ride home, or was it?

    "No Honey, it wasn't, but why are you all dressed up?" I asked.

    "We are going to stop to eat and I wanted to look nice for you Daddy. Are you upset?" she asked.

    "Oh no Honey, I'm not upset. You look beautiful, but now I feel grubby. " I answered.

    "You look great to me Daddy, but if you want to freshen up, you can use my friends washroom. "

    "That would be a great idea Sweetie. I do smell. "

    I went in and took a quick shower. I had a clean shirt, but that was it. I left my underwear off as I slipped my pants back on. I felt better, but my cock was still slightly hard and aching. It was time to go.

    I got into the truck as Dawn said goodbye to her friend. I kept my eyes on my stepdaughter. I couldn't help myself. As Dawn was getting into the truck, her skirt hiked up showing me more of herself. I could see where her stockings ended and the red straps of what I assumed was a garter, holding them up. Her blouse also seemed to have a few more buttons undone then before. That allowed me to see that her bra was also red. I had found out earlier that Dawn loved to wear sexy lingerie. That's because, I've used her soiled panties many times to jack off.

    "All set Daddy, lets go. I'm starving!"

    "Me too Honey, " I said.

    To myself I was thinking, Me too Honey, but for you, not food.

    As we got out of the truck at the supper club, Dawn held my hand as we walked in. Feeling no resistance, she said to me, "I love you Daddy!"

    "I love you too, Honey!"

    The club wasn't very busy and we got a somewhat secluded booth. I was driving, so it was coffee for me. Dawn had a wine. Again I marveled at how beautiful she was, especially in the glow of candle light. We ordered, then Dawn said, "I have something to tell you Daddy and I don't want you to butt in till I'm done. "

    "Since I've met you Daddy, you have been more of a Father to me and Anna, then our real Dad. You are more caring, more loving and helpful. You don't criticize our decisions, instead you support them, right or wrong. You never judge us and only love us for whom we are. For what I'm going to say next, I'll need all these things from you, Daddy. " She paused then continued, "I want you to make love to me tonight, Daddy. I've wanted you for a long time now. I love you. "

    "I love you too Honey, but it would not be right. I know it wouldn't be incest, but what about your Mother? Could we handle this?"

    "I know it would be hard Daddy, but I want you so bad, that I'm ready to deal with it. I know you want me. I've seen the bulges in your pants and I've seen the cum stains in my panties. You can't deny it?"

    "No honey, I can't, I do want you, but flirting and fantasizing are one thing. To act on those feelings are another. "

    Our food came then. We continued to talk as we ate. After we were finished, Dawn laid her cards on the table.

    "You know where the Clear Lake roadside park is don't you. "

    "Yes, I know. "

    As she continued, her toes started to rub my aching cock. "We could pull off there and act like we were tired and getting some rest. It's hardly used anyways. It'll be up to you Daddy. If you want me, just pull in and all I have is yours for the taking. If you pass it by, I'll try to never put you in this position again. You'll have about 45 min. till we get there to decide. Agreed?"

    "Agreed, but you better stop rubbing my cock or I'm going to cum in my pants. "

    "I wouldn't want to waste it there Daddy. After I found out you were using my panties to cum in, I would check them. If I found a recent stain, I would taste it. I love your scent and taste Daddy, but now I want fresh. She pulled her toes away and we left.

    In the truck, Dawn was doing everything she could to influence my decision. She opened her blouse and tempted me with her hard nipples that were showing through the sheer material of her bra. She slid her skirt up far enough, so I could just see the start of her panties. She would put one hand under her skirt and rub herself, while caressing her breasts with the other. She would moan with pleasure and say, "these could be your hands making me moan Daddy. "

    I was in agony as the miles went by. Hormones were winning out over reason. With a few miles to go, I knew I would turn off. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to fuck... and be sucked... by my stepdaughter so bad, I would risk everything. As the Clear Lake road came into view, the sun had just set. As I put my blinker on and slowed, Dawn screamed. She quickly slid over next to me and started kissing my neck and rubbing my cock with her hand.

    "You will never regret this Daddy. I will be yours anytime you want me. Oh... I love you so much! I never thought I would have you. I'm so happy, so excited. Hurry up and get this truck parked. "

    As she said that, she unzipped me and started sucking on my cock.

    I would cum soon. Dawn was doing a super job fondling my balls while she sucked my cock. As I put the truck into reverse to back into a secluded part of the park, Dawn stuck a finger up my ass and that's all it took. I hit the brakes, closed my eyes and filled my stepdaughters mouth with my cum.

    "Oh... fuck Sweetie, suck me, suck Daddy's hot cock. I'm cumming Sweetie, I'm cumming!" I pulled her head down on my spurting cock and Dawn swallowed most of it. What she missed she quickly licked up. When she finished, I finished parking the truck.

    "Did you enjoy the way I sucked your cock, Daddy?"

    "Oh... very much so Honey! That was the most explosive orgasm I can remember. "

    "I'm so happy Daddy, you tasted so... good. All you have to do is ask Daddy and I'll suck your cock anytime. I'm all yours. "

    Dawn then slid into my arms and we started kissing. The taste of my own cum was still in her mouth as our tongues met. I was stimulated by it's taste, which excited my cock and made it start to grow. As I caressed Dawn's breasts, she pulled my shirt over my head. She then unsnapped my pants, giving off a soft moan, as she noticed my now hard cock.

    "Lift up Daddy so I can get your pants off. "

    I obeyed and soon I was naked.

    "You have a great body for your age, Daddy. "

    I was 48 and did jog and bike, so I was in pretty good shape.

    "Thanks Honey! So do you. Now I want to see more of what I've been dreaming of for years. " I removed her blouse. Her tits sure looked hot in her sheer red bra. "I should tell you that your sexy lingerie really excites me Dawn. "

    "I know Daddy. That's why I wear them. Mom mentioned one time how you like them. "

    "You wear them just for me Honey?"

    "Not just for you Daddy. I love the look and feel of lingerie on me too. They make me feel sexy and naughty. "

    We started kissing again and this time I dropped my hand to her legs and started feeling my way upwards. As I neared her pussy, Dawn squeezed her legs shut, halting my assent.

    "I trust you Daddy, because I love you so much. Please don't hurt me?"

    "Never Honey. I love you too. Why would I hurt you?"

    Dawn opened her legs and as my hand continued, she pulled me to her and kissed me hard. I reached her panties and as I slid my fingers between her legs, expecting to find and massage her clit, I found a big clit in the shape of a hard cock. I broke off our kiss and gave Dawn a surprised look.

    "I'm sorry Daddy. I wanted you so... bad, I couldn't tell you. "

    Before Dawn could say anymore I pulled her to me and kissed her. I found myself very excited. I continued to rub her cock through her sexy panties.

    Before I go any further, let me tell you about my fascination with transsexuals. We got our very own PC a few years ago and while exploring the internet, I came across a site with shemales. The site of these beautiful, sexy woman with cocks excited me greatly. I found more and more sites and the more I looked, the more I fantasized. I wanted to experience loving one of these gorgeous transsexuals. I don't figure I'm gay, because the sight of a naked man doesn't excite me. But the sight of a hard cock on a beautiful woman makes me want to suck it.

    My fantasies were coming true.

    The feel of Dawns cock through her panties was really turning me on. It was doing wonders for Dawn too, as she was beginning to moan. "Will you suck my cock now, Daddy?"

    I slid Dawn over on the seat and removed her skirt. She looked so hot in her sexy red lingerie. The sight of her hard cock pressing against her panties was almost enough to make me cum again without touching it. I started to peel Dawns panties down and as I freed her cock, it sprang up. My cock is only about 6 1/2 inches and medium thickness. Dawns cock was a little smaller, but about the same thickness. An added turn on was, she was hairless.

    "Now Daddy, take me in your mouth and suck my cock. I want you to taste my cum. "

    I started by stroking her stiff cock. I've jacked off many times, so I knew what she would like. Next I lowered my mouth and began by licking and tasting some of her pre cum. Enjoying that, I opened my mouth and took Dawn's cock in. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I kept my mouth closed tight and while Dawn brought her hands to the back of my head and helped me by holding it steady, she slowly fucked my mouth. The feel of her cock sliding in and out of my mouth as I sucked it was driving me crazy. I used my tongue to tease the sensitive parts of Dawn's cock, which encouraged her moaning and talking dirty to me. "oh... yes, suck me Daddy, suck your little girls throbbing dick. That's it Daddy, lick the head, oh... don't stop. It feels so good. " I sucked, while she continued to slowly fuck my mouth. I was also caressing her tits and rubbing her legs and balls. I could sense my Honey was on the verge and so on I was rewarded with my first mouthful of cum.

    Dawn's body shook as she rammed her cock deep into my mouth, while holding my head screaming, "I'm cumming... Daddy!" I gagged a little, but swallowed most of Dawns seed. What I missed I licked up. I loved it. Her cum tasted so... good. It had a strong scent and was slightly salty.

    "Oh Daddy, you made me feel so... good and so... loved. "

    I raised up and kissed her. "I loved it too, Sweetheart. Your cock felt so good in my mouth and when you came, the warmth, the creaminess, the scent and taste of it made me want to drink it all down. "

    "Before we go, I want you to fuck me. I want to feel your cock up my ass when you cum Daddy. I've had many sexual objects up my ass, but I'm a virgin when it comes to a live dick. Be my first, Daddy?"

    "Anytime Sweetie. Your ass will be a first for me too. "

    Dawn reached into her purse a pulled out a bottle of jell. She put some into her hand and some into mine. "You get my ass ready, Daddy, while I get your cock ready to slide in. "

    I was so hard. Dawn's fingers felt so good as they readied my cock. I in turn used my finger's to lubricate her waiting ass. When all was in ready, Dawn got on her knees and offered her virgin ass to me. I got on my knees behind her and slid my cock to the entrance of her ass. Thank goodness there was plenty of room in the cab of this truck.

    "Now Daddy, slowly push in. "

    I did as I was told and slowly slid my cock into Dawn's waiting ass. It was tight, tighter then anything I've ever experienced with my cock. It was tight for Dawn too, but soon she relaxed her muscles and my cock slid in and out with more ease.

    "That's it, fuck my ass, Daddy. Oh... fuck me till you cum in me. I want to feel your hot cum in my ass. "

    "Your so tight Honey. I never felt anything so... good before. You may be spoiling me Sweetie. I may not want pussy again. " As my fucking grew more intense, I reached under Dawn and started to pump her now hard cock.

    "Oh Daddy, your hot cock sure feels better then the penis replicas I'm use to using. Keep fucking me Daddy and don't stop jacking me off. I want us to cum... together. "

    We were both close now. I could feel the cum in me about to explode into Dawn's ass. "I'm cumming sweetheart. I can't hold back any longer. " I shot my hot seed into my Stepdaughters accepting ass.

    "I'm cumming too Daddy" and her hot seed covered the seat of the truck. A waste I know, but this was my first time, forgive me.

    I continued to fuck her ass until my cock started to soften. I was disappointed to have to pull out, but I knew there would be many times to love Dawn. Dawn took out some towelettes from her purse and cleaned my cock. I wiped her ass clean.

    We did some more kissing and Dawn reassured me that she's mine whenever I wanted her. I also told her that I'm hers whenever she needed me. Then we dressed. Dawn threw on pants and sweatshirt for the ride home.

    Before we left Dawn said, "next time, I get your virgin ass, Daddy. "

    All I said to that was, "I hope it's soon Honey. "

    We talked on the way home and she told me how she came to be a pre-op transsexual.

    I asked her if she had any type of sexual experience before or was it strictly self pleasure.

    She told me of sex with a few of her girlfriends, but it was what she told me next that got me excited all over again. Her and her sister Anna have been having sex together for over 6 years now. They were sisters who were close and enjoyed pleasing each other. They also kept no secrets and Anna knew of her passion for me. Then she told me Anna found me sexy too and that someday, maybe, we could have a threesome.

    I told Dawn, "Someday Honey, but for now I want to love and enjoy you. You have so much to offer and I want to experience all of you. "

    My stepdaughter kissed me saying, "Anything you want Daddy. I Love You!"
    9936

  5. Dolly this week, Matilda last week by hpulley · · Score: 2, Informative

    More than one data point. Dolly is actually the second cloned sheep to die in a week. Matilda, a cloned sheep born in the year 2000 in Australia died last week. Autopsy results were inconclusive. Matilda's passing.

    --
    $#!^ happens, but why does it always have to happen to me???
  6. Re:Oh boy... by Milo+Fungus · · Score: 4, Informative

    Your telomere explanation was pretty good, except that telomeres aren't just any substance. They're DNA. The end of a chromosome has short repeating sequences of a few base pairs (ex: AATTAATT, etc.) which are not all replicated when a cell duplicates its genome and divides. This presumably acts as a molecular "clock" for the organism to keep track of its "age," but this is pretty controversial and unsubstantiated.

    Click here to read more about telomeres. (Why don't more people link to Wiki?)

    Even if this telomere function were well-established, it doesn't entirely explain the aging process. It seems that part of the process is due to oxidative damage caused by radical reactions in the mitochondria. But similar reactions happen in chloroplasts and some plants live for millenia!

    The exciting thing about biology is that you reach the frontiers of knowledge in the field during your first year of introductory undergraduate coursework. In math you reach the frontiers maybe by your fourth year or in grad school. For physics and chemistry, somewhere in between. Biology is full of unexplained phenomena. If you want to make a great fundamental discovery in one of the hard sciences, then become a biologist. So much is unknown!

  7. Re:DNA Aging, DNA Rejuvenating? by shellac · · Score: 2, Informative

    Found here:

    Telomeres are found on the ends of chromosomes. They are a small sequence of DNA repeated many times. They act as protective "caps" and help to prevent chromosomal instability and damage. However the telomeres gradually shorten over the lifetime of the organism because they are not fully copied during cell division. The exception to this are germ-line cells, where telomeres are maintained so that full-length telomeres are passed on to the next generation.

    Pretty interesting.... I didn't know that myself. Anyhow, don't thank me, thank google.

  8. Re:DNA Aging, DNA Rejuvenating? by TheWhaleShark · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well, it's because your gametes produce "young" DNA.

    I'm sure everyone knows that the male and female gametes each produce one half of the genetic material of a single organism. The genetic material produced by the gametes is brand new; it hasn't aged yet, so the telomeres on the individual DNA strands are still intact. They recombine during fertilization and make a fresh, "young" copy of a complete DNA sequence.

    --
    "It never got weird enough for me." - HST (RIP)
  9. Re:Nothing sadder by y0bhgu0d · · Score: 1, Informative

    i know your post was meant to be funny, but iirc, dolly lived somewhere near twice as long as the sheep she was cloned from. shortly after dolly was born, the clonee died from a weird disease.

  10. Re:Oh boy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Telomeres are repeating sequences of non-protein-coding DNA at the end of a chromosome. Due to an inefficiency involoved in the replication of chromosomes, they become shorter and shorter with each cell division. Eventually, the telomere is depleted and parts of actual genes begin to be cut off. This explains death by old age.

    An interesting side note is that cancer cells do not undergo the shortening of telemeres unlike normal cells. As opposed to normal cells which have a finite lifetime, cancer cells are functionally immortal.

    A little off topic, but still somewhat interesting.

  11. Re:Oh boy... by drdrs · · Score: 2, Informative
    Yes, but if the rumors of premature aging are true, they may actually have some science to base their argument on. You see there's this very important substance called telomeres attached to the end of chromosomes. As cells divide, the telomere caps become shorter, and eventually the cells stop dividing and either malfunction or die. It stands to reason that, if you start off with an adult cell, you already have shortened telomeres and will therefore have a reduced lifespan. [Any biology experts should feel free to correct me.] Rather than terminate Dolly, I'd rather they have experimented with telomerase to see if they could rejuvinate her. Although, I guess that's a little on the unethical and cruel side.
    This is almost right but I just can't let it go without comment.

    Telomeres are not so much a substance as a sequence of base pairs located at the ends of chromosomes. They're important because the enzymes used to copy these chromosomes during cell divison can't quite go all the way to the end. In theory this means that there must be a maximum number of replications a cell can go thorugh before you start to loose important information off the end of the DNA molecule.

    Some people have speculated that this may be an important cause of aging but I've never seen completely convincing research to support this. Cells do have enzymes called telomerases which can reconstitute these terminal sequences but they do shorten with each generation of cells. The whole effect is complicated.

    As to using telemerase to treat Dolly - whatever the effect of telemeres is on aging, Dolly died of a "lung infection" so I don't think her chromosomes were directly to blame.

    David
    --
    Please, for the love of God, stay off the dunes.
  12. From What it Sounded Like on NPR by Greyfox · · Score: 3, Informative

    It wasn't that Dolly was a clone. Dolly was kept indoors with a bunch of other sheep (some clones, some not) and this virus was spreading in the whole population. It doesn't sound like the disease was directly related to her being a clone.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  13. Re:Oh boy... by m1a1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    It is my understanding (which doesn't mean too much) that telomeres weren't so much a clock as a failsafe. When chromosomes replicate a little genetic information tends to be lost during this dividing process. Telomeres are "spare" genetic material at the ends of the chromosome, so they get cut off first. When the chromosomes in a certain cell have no telomere left, the cell cannot successfully divide.

  14. Re:Oh boy... by liverkill · · Score: 3, Informative
    Just a little point on cellular aging; i believe that the main link between 'aging' and telomeres in mamals is due to the link between the progressive shortening of telomeres and cell senesance.

    The telomeric shortening results in the 'Hayflic Limit' where mamalian cells in culture are observed to divide 50-80 times before killing themselfs, telomeric shortening is linked to this process, prehaps providing some sort of timer as to when to kill off the cell in order to prevent conditions such as cancer.

    While the telomere exists as a protection against genetic instability arising from CRISIS, I think that ascribing it a role in 'aging' is a bit of a jump. I am much more comfortable with the idea that Telomeres act to help prevent genetic instability due to the problems associated with replication of linear chromasones. While the Telomere acts as a 'molecualr clock' of sorts, it is only really concerned with the cells DNA, aging in other ways (such as progressive modifications in collagen with increased age) is nothing to do with Teleomers.

    As to the point on the aging process itself, i would argue that it is entirely independent of telomeric shortening, and that change in telomeric length is *just* a timer indicating the age of the cell/number of divisions to reach its current condition. The aging process is due to a large number of ancillary effects which have no relationship to the telomeres.

    And yes, biology (or in this case, not to nitpick, genetics) is one of the places where you find yourself with the cutting edge stuff very early on. Makes for really interesting study, if a bit annoying that no text book you can buy is up to date enough.

  15. Re:What about the problems with Genetic Engineerin by the+gnat · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wrong for two reasons:

    1. Genetic engineering is not "random". A better comparison would be a hacker taking 10MB of source code to some random program and adding an email client. (hey, like Emacs!)

    2. The genetic code can handle quite a bit of "random" mutation. There are cases where it is extremely sensitive to mutation, such as sickle-cell leukemia (single poylmorphisim that causes hemoglobin to form chains), but there are "silent" mutations and even amino acid mutations that will have no effect.

  16. Re:DNA Aging, DNA Rejuvenating? by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is exactly what I wonder too. I don't get how, even if the DNA packaged in the reproductive cells ages very little over time, the human race could survive for so long. There must be something 'cleaning up' the DNA before packaging into reproductive cells.

    It is Darwinian evolution. If your reproductive cells go bad, you simply don't reproduce effectively and the messed up genetics cease to continue. (Except on rare occassions the "mistakes" may be beneficial.)

  17. on reversing aging by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Informative

    Even if this telomere function were well-established, it doesn't entirely explain the aging process. It seems that part of the process is due to oxidative damage caused by radical reactions in the mitochondria. But similar reactions happen in chloroplasts and some plants live for millenia!

    Aging is a tough problem to solve. It appears that cell reproduction errors build up over the life-time of an organism. Many of the symptoms of aging are the slowing of metabolism to reduce the chances of mistakes. If an organism is tweaked to bypass this slowdown, then cancer and similar deseases will probably end you because errors occure more often when metabolism is turned up high.

    Thus, aging is a balance between a rock (slower metabolism) and a hard place (cancer).

    The closest analogy that comes to mind is the basketball season. If a team plays too hard mid-season, they may have too many injuries by the time the playoffs come. And, if they don't play hard enough, they won't make it to (win enough games for) the playoffs.

    Perhaps the best solution against human aging would be to slow the body's metabolism, but not the brain's. Modern living usually requires less physical exertion than our body is tuned for.

  18. Re:DNA Aging, DNA Rejuvenating? by liverkill · · Score: 2, Informative
    'DNA Aging' is nothing more than progressive telomeric shortening which is counteracted in the germ line by the action of telomerase. In the case of dolly, when she was 2 her telomeres were observed to be 80% of the length of a 'normal' sheep of that age. Not a massive difference, and not something which satisfactoraly explains her early death.

    The most important thing to remember about the production of gametes is that they are produced by germ-line cells. Mutation is a way of life and an important evoloutionary mechanism, indeed, mutation is utilised during gamete formation (through events such as Unequal Sister Chromatid Exchange) to create a unique arrangement of genes. There is therefore no need or desire by the species to 'clean up' the dna from these muations.

    In fact the lack of a mechanism for dealing with convertion of a methylated Cytosine to Thyamine has been one of the key facts which has been used to detect genes in eukaryotes - CpG islands are found with all the major housekeeping genes and ~40% of the tissue specific genes.

    so in short, there is no 'clean up' (known) of the dna in the germ line, there is however a stabilisation of telomeric length (acheved through the action of telomerase) at the higher end of the 5-20kb range, which is now being rapidly charicterised.