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Children Help Their Mothers for Decades

Itninja writes "NPR reported this morning on some interesting findings regarding mothers and their children. From the article: 'Some scientists have proposed that when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or a daughter, but a gift of cells that stays behind and protects her for the rest of her life. That's because a baby's cells linger in its mom's body for decades and -- like stem cells -- may help to repair damage when she gets sick. It's such an enticing idea that even the scientists who came up with the idea worry that it may be too beautiful to be true.'"

40 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. Someone's been reading DNA by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's such an enticing idea that even the scientists who came up with the idea worry that it may be too beautiful to be true.

    A qualified poet once testified under oath that beauty was truth, truth beauty, and hoped thereby to prove that the guilty party in the case was Life itself for failing to be either beautiful or true. The judges concurred, and in a moving speech held that Life itself was in contempt of court, and duly confiscated it from all those there present before going off to enjoy a pleasant evening's ultragolf.

    Yes, there is the "Good Hypothesis": that the cells stay in the mom and try to protect her for the rest of her life.

    And yes, there is the "Bad Hypothesis": that the cells gather at inflammation sites and contribute to mom's autoimmune diseases.

    But there is also a third hypothesis:


    That both of the first two hypothesis were concocted by by a wily editor of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy in order to increase the level of universal uncertainty and paranoia and so boost sales of the Guide?

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  2. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase by ettlz · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Service Pack".

    1. Re:Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase by Craptastic+Weasel · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you mean "Cervix Pack"...

      yeah i know, made me groan too.

  3. Re by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 5, Funny

    So My mom has a fetus cache? Or did I leave a cookie?

    --
    And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
  4. I wonder by netfool · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder if this has anything to do with women living on average, seven years longer than men?

    --
    Left 4 Dead Gaming Group - http://www.l4dgg.com
    1. Re:I wonder by Firehed · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless. How many women do you know go cliffjumping or start street racing just because of the type of car that pulled up next to her at the stop light?

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    2. Re:I wonder by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 5, Funny
      Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless.

      nice, your typo contradicted your point :)

      --
      If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
    3. Re:I wonder by XXIstCenturyBoy · · Score: 4, Informative

      No. There is no historical statistical correlation between the lifespan of women based on number of children (or even if they had children).

      No data doesn't mean its not the case. It mean that no one tested it that way.

    4. Re:I wonder by Drakai · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually, I disagree here. Men do more dangerous things because we are more capable of doing more dangerous things successfully. This isn't just bravado. There is a certain amount of risk assessment to every action a person takes. And depending on how active a person is dictates their self awareness as well as how capable they are of performing a given feat. A given act may be considered objectively dangerous but every act danger level is subjective to the person performing the act.

      Men seem to do more dangerous things because they are more likely to survive the 'dangerous' activity. This should balance out the lifespan issue at least somewhat. Plus in modern life the average person isn't excatly the daredevil risk taker, yet the lifespan discrepency remains.

      A more interesting study would be comparing the lifespans of women with certain numbers of children. Spinsters, vs. one child, vs. 2 children and so on. It is not just many vs. none since there is also an inherent risk in the act of birthing achild. I would think so anyway. Of course, it might be difficult to separate lifestyle and environment from those studies, but who knows?

    5. Re:I wonder by Vellmont · · Score: 4, Interesting


      Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often.

      If that were true you'd see a big gender difference at the young ages that men are doing reckless things. That isn't true, and the gender disparity only shows up much later in life. I'm not sure why the difference exists, but I've heard that women get heart disease much less often than men because of the protective effects of estrogen.

      --
      AccountKiller
    6. Re:I wonder by BewireNomali · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Women have higher resting serum levels of growth hormone than men until menopause when they fall. That's where the seven extra years plus come from.

      women get extra time because they reproduce. males are overproduced, so we can afford to waste a few doing stupid shit, like you mentioned.

      --
      un burrito me trampeó.
    7. Re:I wonder by hackstraw · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless. How many women do you know go cliffjumping or start street racing just because of the type of car that pulled up next to her at the stop light?

      That is called risk taking. It used to be a valued human male characteristic before being a pussy became the norm.

      Risk taking does things like put men on the moon, explore new territory when others believe the world is flat, riot and form new governments, etc.

      But, I digress. The woman's way is the right way.

    8. Re:I wonder by Empty+Yo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Statistically speaking, if you remove deaths due to work accidents, vehicle accidents and war from the death statistics, then men live with a half a year of women. Those three factors combined pretty much account for the seven year difference.

      --
      I'll tolerate anything except intolerance.
    9. Re:I wonder by hackstraw · · Score: 3, Funny

      That isn't true, and the gender disparity only shows up much later in life. I'm not sure why the difference exists

      Some men develop testicles later in life which produces testosterone -- the male hormone.

      Evidence of the contrary is here.

  5. That's nothing. by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Funny

    My personal collection of cells can actually mow my Mom's entire lawn.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  6. The bugina by bermudatriangleoflov · · Score: 5, Funny

    The miracles of the vagina never cease to amaze me....9 months trying to get out and the rest of your life trying to get back in.

    1. Re:The bugina by spadefoot · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, not the same one, I would hope.

  7. So in essence... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Babies are the new brocolli! Eat more babies!

    1. Re:So in essence... by uberjoe · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now there's a modest proposal if I ever heard one.

      --

      The days of the digital watch are numbered.

  8. Fathers, meanwhile by muertos · · Score: 5, Funny

    Experience negative health benefits from children.

    I know mine drive me crazy.

  9. Re:Double Edged Sword by JesseL · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if they may also end up seeding cancers.

    --
    "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
  10. I guess it makes sense by arkham6 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From a evolution and survival of the species standpoint, it makes sense. Since the offspring is so dependant on the mother for food for many years after birth, the species needs to ensure that the mother lives to provide.

  11. Some of the cells by RealProgrammer · · Score: 5, Funny

    are 30 years old and still living in the basement.

    --
    sigs, as if you care.
  12. Already been proven in rat brain studies by RootsLINUX · · Score: 5, Informative

    I read something related to this in a neurobiology article back in October. See this link.

    For the lazy, some scientists in Singapore and Asia activated a flourescent green protein in rat males and bred them with normal rat females. After giving birth, the mother rats had neuronal cells with the protein expressed in their brains, making it clear that those cells formerly belonged to their fetuses. And check out this quote:

    "Moreover, after the scientists chemically injured the mouse brains, nearly six times as many fetal cells made their way to damaged areas than elsewhere, suggesting the cells could be responding to molecular distress signals released by the brain."

    Seems like it makes for a pretty damn good argument for this theory to me.

    --
    Hero of Allacrost, a FOSS RPG for *NIX/*BSD/OS X/Win
  13. Your mom by szembek · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've got some cells that are lingering inside your mom too.

    --
    nothing
    1. Re:Your mom by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 3, Funny

      Your post and one of the replies reminds me of a joke.

      A young man is enjoying a few drinks in the pub with some friends when a fat, balding man staggers up to the table and says quite loudly to the young guy, 'I've fucked your mum!' The young lad feels a little embarrassed but he and his friends just ignore the drunkard and he stumbles off. Five minutes later the lush is back, this time exclaiming 'I've sucked your mum's tits! Your mum sucked my cock!' through beery breath. Having had enough, the young guy gets up and says sternly, 'Dad, you're drunk. Go home!'.

      --
      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  14. Re:Hard to believe. by Frazbin · · Score: 3, Informative

    I got the full story on NPR-- and the scientist they interviewed brought that up. They *were* under the impression that the placenta formed an impenetrable barrier, and they *did* think that the immune system would attack any remaining fetal cells, but the evidence suggests otherwise.

  15. A gift of cells that stays behind and protects her by AndroidCat · · Score: 3, Funny

    So it's okay if I skip a card and chocolates on her birthday now and then, right?

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  16. You mean all these years by mmell · · Score: 3, Funny
    I've kept my wife gravid, hoping to kill her in her child-bed, I've been helping her to live longer and healthier? Man!

    If it wasn't so much fun, I'd stop trying to kill her this way. Y'know, ever since she had that tubal, I've been wondering about the wisdom of trying to do her in by impregnation. Oh, well . . . too late to stop now!

  17. Jaffa, kree! by Del+Vach · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just like a Ga'ould symbiot! Second only in healing powers to Richard Dean Anderson himself.

  18. reminds me of a csi episode by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Interesting

    i just saw

    a guy is fingered for a rape/ murder, so they check his dna against the crime scene dna and find out that he doesn't match 100%, but 50%, implying his brother did the crime

    so csi seeks out all of the guy's brothers, including a crazy homeless schizophrenic one, but none of them match the dna 100% either

    until the lead csi guy figures out what is really going on: the guy is a chimera

    a chimera is a very very rare person where two eggs/ embryos fuse very early in embryonic development, such that only one person results, but one person where different organ systems in the body are from different genetic makeups, in essence, two brothers becoming one man

    for example, the person's brain and bone marrow might be of person a, but the skin and eggs/ testicles might be of person b

    so it is possible, for example, to have a child that is genetically your nephew/ niece, if only your brother's testicles are left of him and you are a chimera

    the point is, the body is very well able to be made of different genetic lineages, without all of the usual immunological tissue rejection issues and such

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  19. Re:Easily proven wrong by Scrameustache · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since that's never been observed (and I'm sure someone has looked at the stats, it's such an easy study), this can't be true.
    I suspect these so-called "scientists"


    You go on and ASSUME something, and then you put "scientists" in quotes.
    Because, clearly, the master of assumptions is more of a scientist than these lab-coat wearing bozos!

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  20. Dance with me, Mom! by layer3switch · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Dance with me, mom! Dance the dance of life!" ...fumble, trip, crash...

    So is this mean, I can finally talk back to my mom with same tone?

    mom: ...sigh... the things I did for you, giving you birth through excruciating labour for hours...
    son: ...sigh... the things I did for you, leaving my fetal cell behind to help you heal...

    ps: Mom, I love you. I'm just kidding.

    --
    "Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
  21. Re:Hard to believe. by Politburo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hey, you know what, you're right. The professional researchers who did this work must have overlooked it. All that work wasted!

    Seriously.. why is it that with every science story that comes on here, there's some tool who says "Hey, what about [ridiculously simple and/or well-known concept]?"

    How do you think these people get to be researchers? Lotto?

  22. Re:Easily proven wrong by MarkusH · · Score: 4, Informative

    Indeed, and such a study was done. The conclusion was a statistically significant increase in the lifespan of mothers vs. childless women, although environmental factors (status level and level of education) were more significant.

    Interestingly, older mothers had a slower rate of aging than young mothers.

  23. Re:Propaganda by BridgeBum · · Score: 4, Informative

    I haven't RTF, but I heard the NPR report on the way in this morning. They actually addressed abortions, still borns, etc. None of that seems to matter in this finding, merely conception (and probably enough development for the zygote to become a fetus so that there is blood, but I don't think that was said explicitly.)

    --
    My UID is the product of 2 primes.
  24. Guilt Trip deflector by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks. Now when my mom asks me what I've done for her, I can deflect the guilt trip.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  25. This is great news! by Hrodvitnir · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now when my mom and I get into an argument and she uses the line "Hey! I brought you into this world!" I can counter with:

    I gave you super healing!

    --
    "There are more important things than stopping terrorism. Upholding the Constitution is one of them." - Ars Forumer.
  26. Bridge? by XMilkProject · · Score: 3, Funny

    The therapist always told me I wasn't responsible for my mothers death, but now I have scientific evidence.

    My cells should have been there for her.

    If only Google Maps could find me the nearest bridge.

    Good Bye Cruel World!

    --
    Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
    Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
  27. Re:Interesting... by TubeSteak · · Score: 3, Funny
    Um, isn't Valentine's Day for romance?

    I don't understood that.
    Just send her some flowers, she'll understand even if you don't.
    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!