X-Message-Number: 7160
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 20:31:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: Why the DNA-RNA experiment was never replicated 

     All those who emailed their addresses have now been sent copies of
 the incredible report on increasing rat life span by 144%. This actually
 understates things slightly. After looking at the report again I saw that
 the maximum life span of the DNA-RNA injected rats was 2250, not the 2200
 days previously reported. Sorry for this typo. The increase is then 150%,
 not the 144% previously stated. If anyone is still interested in
 recieving the report just email your address. 
     After rereading the report it is apparent that the author Max Odens
 was not a life extensionist. This is perhaps not surprising given the
 conservative nature of many in the medical profession. Dr. Odens seemed
 to be mostly interested in proving a viral theory of cancer. The fact
 that he did not state the exact day of death of the remaining four
 injected rats suggests he may have found this embaressing, since this was
 almost certainly not what he was looking for. Indeed the 2250 figuare is
 suspect, since the chances of the exact day of death being a multiple of
 50 are 1 in 50. I suspect the real figuare may be something like 2263. 
     The fact that this experiment was not replicated is not hard to
 explain. Dr. Odens and his colleagues almost certainly had no interest in
 doing so, since they had little or no interest in extending the lifespan
 of humans. 
     Here's a few quotes from the report: 

     "ABSTRACT: To test the effect of RNA-DNA in preventing the
 deleterious effects of old age, an experiment was conducted that involved
 10 rats with a normal life span of 800-900 days. All were fed the same
 diet; 5 rats were not treated, and 5 were given weekly injections of DNA
 + RNA. After twelve weeks the difference in appearance, weight and
 alertness was remarkable. The 5 untreated rats died before 900 days. Of
 the treated rats, 4 died at ages of 1600-1900 days, and 1 at 2250 days. A
 parallel cannot be drawn with aging in human beings fed RNA-DNA, but the
 findings on rats may have some application to cellular studies on
 cancer." 

      (Later on in the body of the report Dr. Odens mentions:)

      "Although it is tempting to think in terms of the possibility of an
 equivalent prolongation of the life span of human beings accomplished by
 injections of DNA and RNA, it should be emphasized that the parallels
 between aging in rats and aging in humans are not only unknown but are
 entirely outside the scope of this experiment." 


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