Re: Nanotech & "Transhumanism"

Chris Phoenix <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> Germline cells are the result of lots and lots of genetic replication,
> but the next generation absolutely depends on their being accurate.  
> 
> It's possible, of course, that more energy is spent in germline cells to
> correct DNA copying errors, and non-germline cells are more susceptible
> to copying errors.  But this implies that this cellular machinery could
> be turned up in other cells, saving them from further damage.  And
> anyway I don't think it's correct.  Feel free to disprove me with a
> reference.
> 
> Aubrey de Grey has done a lot of study of aging, and has found only
> seven causes.  http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/sens/  I don't think any of them
> involve fuzzy copying.  Some of them involve genetic damage, of course,
> and telomeres are mentioned, but I don't think either of these is what
> you were referring to.
> 
> Chris

In my recollection, the haploid gamete cells are created early on, and
don't have to undergo much somatic type replication until they are
used in the act of conception. So your sperm cells have their original
genetic integrity, unlike the rest of the cells in your body, which
have multiplied many times on your way to adulthood.

But what I read once was that your biological clock is embedded in 
your genes, and it slows down on purpose as you grow older, in order
to avoid cancer, and to preserve your longevity. This is because as
your somatic cells have multiplied, their informational integrity has
progressively degraded.