So how many of you would be readily prepared to sacrifice your fertility in order to increase your the amount of time you live? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal right? Pretty selfish if you ask me but it could soon be a reality.
One day we could be offered a choice between having children or enhancing our chances of reaching very old age. Over time our bodies degenerate naturally and have a limited energy budget that can either be used to repair damaged cells and halt this decline, or saved to allow us to reproduce, so researcher have said in the 1970s. Come thirty years later and advances in genomic techniques have enabled scientist to isolate a key molecular pathway that involves the aging process. This hormone is called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). In mammals
IGF-1 is believed to initiate a chain of events that control the way that our energy is used. Genes are involved that stimulate the proteins to begin the vital processes like repairing damaged cells, which has a major affects on postponing the onset of cancer. These types of processes are dependent on the levels of IGF-1, with low levels sending the body into a self preservation mode switching the energy allocation away from the reproductive organs and more towards the maintenance and repair of DNA and proteins. A study found that high levels of IGF-1 in the blood of middle aged people were associated with Alzheimers.
This seems like a trade that most people would be willing to do. Some people just dont want to have kids because of how stressful and demanding the job can be. Dont want any kids? Good news you can now live longer! Still want kids? Enjoy the wonders of being a parent with the same lifespan as every other adult.
This research poses a scientific moral debate on whether or not people should mess with the natural ways of life. Many questions remain unanswered such as whether or not a person should want to live longer than they're meant to. The future of this research will ultimately change a lot in the scientific community.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this topic is very controversial. Should we really be messing with our body's natural life cycle? There is a reason why we have the life spans that we do, and altering them could mean more health risks for individuals that choose to go this route. Hopefully more research will be done on this topic to ensure its safety and effectiveness, and will be able to properly educate people on the effects.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what others have said. Ultimately changing the natural life cycle (which has been increasing drastically over the years from medical advances) would either affect us positively or negatively. In my opinion more research is needed on the subject because having the consequences of lower fertility doesn't seem very positive for an already long life cycle.
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