X-Message-Number: 22642 From: "Bill Warner" <> Subject: My proposal for life extension - long term Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 18:04:55 -0500 I recently got involved in the life extension paradigm so my idea may have already been suggested, discussed and dissected. It could be that my idea is basic and obvious to those that have been involved for awhile. Feel free to let me know. The basis of my idea (or assumptions) is: 1.) The telomere is composed of a repeating genetic sequence. 2.) The telomeres of chromosomes shorten each time a cell divides. 3.) This shortening of the telomere is the basis of aging (as I understand it, this is still controversial). 4.) The shortening of the telomere uncovers additional genes that code for aging and eventually death. 5.) Successful cells are based on hundreds of enzymes (or more) that do a specific task for the cell. Of course, these enzymes (proteins) are created by the codes in the DNA itself. 6.) We will be able to design biological proteins to perform specific tasks or design nanobots to perform specific tasks. What needs to be developed is either a complex biological molecule (complex like the mitochondria) or a nanobot that performs these specific (albeit involved) tasks: 1.) penetrate cell membranes- 2.) penetrate the nucleus- 3.) not elicit a negative immune response- 4.) determine that the cell is currently not in the process dividing- 5.) locate the end of a chromosome- 6.) "walk" the chromosome (analogous to the mitochondria walking the mRNA to produce proteins)- 7.) Recognize the specific genetic sequence that characterize the telomere and count the telomere sequences- 8.) Research would have to tell us how many sequences characterize those of a 25 year old (assuming 25 is our target age). 9.) If it reaches the "end" of the telomere without reaching the target count that it has been programmed with, it would assemble a proper telomere sequence and attach it to the end of the telomere (or it would attach a pre- assembled sequence that it is "carrying"-maybe it wouldn't seek out the end of a chromosome until it has assembled a sequence for when it needs it). 10.) If it reaches the target count of telomere sequences that it has been programmed with, it would detach from the chromosome having done nothing but having walked the telomere. 11.) Continually repeat from 4.) 12.) If it meets up with another just like itself, one of the two decides to go to another cell. They'd be programmed to have the ability to arbitrate this decision between them or each one could have an identifying label and the one with the label that is smallest would be the one to move on. 13.) They could be given the ability to determine if they're damaged. They'd then exit the cell and "allow" themselves to be flushed from the body. 14.) They wouldn't be given the ability to replicate though so they couldn't "develop or evolve" problems. You'd be provided with the proper quantity of them through injections. Eventually, you'd be supplied with as many of them as the number of cells in your body. Since your body continues to divide cells, you'd re-supply yourself with them at regular intervals. ...or maybe I'm just not imaginative enough to consider how they'd create a copy of themselves at the right time and have a copy move to the newly divided cell. 15.) If something unforeseen happens, they'd be given the ability to flush themselves from the person they've been injected into upon some kind of signal. 16.) To accomplish this list of "tasks", they'd have to make use of available energy (like ATP) and molecular building blocks. I don't know a lot about biology and nanotechnology yet, but these are my initial musings. What do you think? Is this the direction we should be pushing research. Will it arrive in time for us? :-) I'm going to post this to several places to get the discussion going so don't be surprised (or upset) if you see it somewhere else too. Thanks for considering my proposal! Bill Warner Content-Type: text/html; [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22642