How appropriate that this week's cover story for Newsweek magazine is about exactly what we are talking about in class: cell aging, stem cells and cancer. Is it just a coincidence? Often my love for biology is compounded when I realize how often I encounter biology in my every day life. Read the article below:
I know this article is long, but stick with it. Write a scholarly response. What do you think? If you were a billionaire, how long would you want to live? 100? 200? 400? Why? Would you have the same quality of life? How long would you want to work? How does our society and media currently treat old people? What do you think of this Ponce de Leon style fountain of youth? Who is Clive McCay? What did he do in 1956? Does this relate to stem cells? What type of stem cells are they working with totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent? Who is Amy Wagers? What is her work with GDF11? Who is Ronald De Pinho? What is his work with telomeres? How is telomerase related to cancer? If scientists are able to increase our life expectancy, what will humans do when their organs begin to fail? If scientists are able to insure immortality, what will happen to the amount of cancer in the future? What will the affect on the economy? Can our planet support the population growth og this extended Type 3 survivorship curve? Is immortality worth the price?
