With Advances in Immortality Research, You May Be Able to Live Your Crappy Life Forever

Harvard research science people have been playing around with worms to figure out how to make us all immortal.  This is great news because I thought I was never going to learn who was America’s Next Best Top Dance Crew in 2070.  Ok, 2050.  If I start exercising again.

The scientists used germline cells, which are “immortal,” and somehow spliced them into somatic cells, which are the normal ones that die all over the place.  It goes a little something like this…  

“C. elegans mutants with extreme longevity accomplish this feat, in part, by adopting genetic programs normally restricted to the germline into somatic cells,” says Sean Curran, research fellow in genetics at MGH Molecular Biology and the study’s lead author. “We know that germline cells are more stable than somatic cells – they live longer and are more resistant to stresses that damage other cells – and understanding the molecular pathways involved in that stability may someday allow us to devise therapies protective against age-related decline in other tissues.”

Haha, I know, I don’t understand any of that either, but the good news is that we all get to live forever!

“The idea that somatic cells can reacquire genetic pathways usually restricted to germline cells is fascinating, and since germline protection is seen across species, the activity of these genes may play a role in controlling mammalian life span,” says Ruvkun, senior author of the Nature paper. “Understanding the mechanisms involved in this transformation could help us develop new ways to repair and even regenerate key cells and tissues.”

I am hitting myself in the face with a hammer right now just because I can!

Seriously, though – get ready to have a ton of time on your hands.

Source: Harvard via The Daily Galaxy.