Can unlocking the secrets behind cancer lead to immortality?
Q. I know it might sound odd at first but hear me out. Cancer is essentially a cellular division disorder. Cancer cells dived and grow invasively and with indefinite abundance. Our normal body cells can only divide a finite number of times according to the Hayflick limit. Granted cancer cells have a difficulty specializing, but just look at teratomas. They can form complex germ layers and in rare cases limbs all with out external manipulation. Do you think its possible that man can eventually understand and apply new knowledge of cancer to live forever. (Or rather ... a very long time.) Thoughts? Ideas ? Like a modern fountain of youth ... This is hypothetical ... I know getting hit by a car or getting a infectious disease can still kill you.… [cont.]
Asked by - Fri Oct 21 23:29:25 2011 - Cancer - 5 Answers - Comments

can someone tell me if you can fix the hayflick limit?
Q. well what is it? or whats the problem that stops us form fixing it? then whats the problem?
Asked by danielparejax - Wed Oct 1 13:19:57 2008 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. The way to fix the hayflick limit would be to reactivate the telomerase gene in the cell lines in which it is normally deactivated.
Answered by emucompboy - Wed Oct 1 14:08:30 2008

How long does it take for a cell to replicate 50 times?( Hayflick Limit)?
Q. The Hayflick phenomenon states that a cell will replicate 50 or so times before the telomeres become too short yada yada yada. What I want to know is how long does it take for a cell to replicate 50 times? So, it would take roughly 40-50 days for a cell to have replicated completely. So do cells replicate constantly? Also, when the cell splits into two daughter cells, do they both have the same "Hayflick count" (what I mean is, have they both got the same or roughly the same number of replications left, or does ONE have a 'full' count, i.e. 50 left)?
Asked by Advice Prawn - Tue Oct 20 07:32:32 2009 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. The amount of time it takes for cell division to completely take place ranges widely, depending on the species involved: some bacteria, for example, can complete cell division in 20 minutes, while mammals such as humans may take 12-24 hours. This is a reflection of the complexity of the cells, but also the purpose of the cell division: bacteria need to divide rapidly to reproduce and grow, while adult humans are not in a growth stage, and therefore do not need to produce as many new cells. Pick your species and do the math! (i.e. x 50)
Answered by Hochie - Tue Oct 20 08:05:36 2009

The science and research in the area of aging and reversing aging?
Q. I need to know good sources that discuss and relate to the bio-logical science and study of aging for an assignment. I know about the Hayflick limit (books, websites, anything.), yet I am wondering what else is going on in this area of research. Besides the Hayflick limit, what else is involved in this area of study or I need to know about what causes this process? Who are the leading experts and researchers in this field? What advances are being made? I know I have a lot of questions, yet please answer what you can. Thank you in advance.
Asked by gotagetaweigh - Wed Jul 18 18:33:41 2007 - Other - Science - 2 Answers - Comments

A. Check these out - www.ageing.ox.ac.uk/ www.bsra.org.uk/ Hope it helps...best of luck!
Answered by presidentofasia - Wed Jul 18 18:49:07 2007

what is hayflick limit and how does it affect humans?
Q.
Asked by nabhan - Thu Jul 1 11:51:25 2010 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. The hayflick limit is the number of times a particular cell type can multiply, some cells multiply a lot more frequently, so they have a higher hayflick limit. This means, that eventually, the cells just stop being replaced. A way this effects humans is in cancer. Cancerous cells have no hayflick limit, which makes them incredibly dangerous as they don't just stop. They keep multiplying and multiplying unless they are removed or stopped by something else.
Answered by Faded - Thu Jul 1 17:12:27 2010

Homework questions, help please :-/?
Q. 24) Cyclins A. act as allosteric inhibitors of checkpoint kinases B. are present at the same level throughout the cell cycle C. are activators of CDKs D. all of the above 25) Primary cells A. have a Hayflick limit B. are immortal C. divide in culture independent of added growth factors D. none of the above 26) Chromosome shortening occurs in A. Primary cells B. Cancer cells C. Embryonic stem cells D. Immortal cell lines 27) Loss of contact inhibition A. results in unrestricted growth of cells into a tumor B. occurs when cells no longer adhere to a substrate C. is common in most tissues D. is due to cells entering G0 28) Transformation A. refers to the process by which a primary cell becomes cancerous B. is the process by which a cancer… [cont.]
Asked by Tony M - Tue Apr 29 14:25:33 2008 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. 24.)D.all of the above ---cyclins --- Cyclins are a family of proteins involved in the progression of cells through the cell cycle.A cyclin forms a complex with its partner cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk), which activates the latter's protein kinase function. 25.)D.none of the above --primary cells today are found in alkaline batteries; earlier carbon-zinc cells, with a carbon post as cathode and a zinc shell as anode were prevalent 26.)B.Cancer cells. --Telomeres protect a cell's chromosomes from fusing with each other or rearranging. These chromosome abnormalities can lead to cancer, so cells are normally destroyed when telomeres are consumed. Most cancer is the result of cells bypassing this destruction. 27.)A. results in unrestricted… [cont.]
Answered by Isaac D - Tue Apr 29 15:02:20 2008

Has the Hayflick limit been proven, or is it sort of just a theory?
Q.
Asked by Jeans or a skirt? - Thu Jun 3 05:22:37 2010 - Biology - 2 Answers - Comments

A. Hayflick proposed this theory, and he has the data to back it up. In 1960, he showed that rat embryos would only divide a certain, apparently predetermined number of times, and Scientist later have shown an involvment of the telomeres in this process. As cells divide, they lost telomere length each time, given a certain number of divisions, there becomes a critical loss of genetic material when the telomeres are exhausted. Hayflicks experiments were very elegant.
Answered by - Thu Jun 3 12:04:18 2010

Is the Hayflick's Limit the solution to cancer?
Q. Cancer cells do not have the Hayflick's Limit, a cell's natural ability to stop reproducing. Could a retro-virus be created to "infect" the cancer cells with the Hayflick's Limit?
Asked by zeruhn - Sat Jun 13 05:20:21 2009 - Cancer - 1 Answers - Comments

A. This is already an active area of research. Telomerase is an enzyme which lengthens the telomere, allowing cells to continue dividing. Stem cells make wonderful use of this enzyme fortunately. Any virus that poisoned this mechanism to keep cancer cells from dividing would preferably NOT need to do the same to our stem cells. All cancers do not have uncontrolled cell division as the dominant feature. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, is a disease where the cells do not divide uncontrollably but rather the cells just do not die- they accumulate over time in an accretion fashion. So this strategy could pay off (and hopefully so) for some cancers but not all. It will likely not be a sweeping cure due to complexity of cancer growth pathways. [cont.]
Answered by zrepmd - Sat Jun 13 10:11:47 2009

GCSE - Hayflick limit - please help!!!?
Q. "What is the Hayflick limit and how does this limit relate to cell division in humans?"
Asked by ilikezebras2008 - Sun May 3 04:20:31 2009 - Homework Help - 1 Answers - Comments

A. The Hayflick limit is the number of times a cell will divide before it stops due to the telomere reaching a critical length.
Answered by spoonerism - Sun May 3 04:31:02 2009

Are humans still being genetically mutated against the will of G-d?
Q. Sort of like atheists and OCD / ADD (not limited to) ? Thousands of years ago, what the bible calls fallen angels (Lucifer etc.) genetically influenced our species against the will of God. This may have resulted in us receiving souls, it certainly has caused women untold problems in child birth, which are still a problem to this day even after thousands of years. The first of these hybrid children were known as the Nephilim, some call them Aryans. These angels were most likely advanced beings from another planet and they brought our species forward by thousands of years through mixing their genes with us (giving us the knowledge of good and evil to become self conscious). As well as being much bigger than us, they have magic like techology… [cont.]
Asked by - Fri Oct 7 01:45:49 2011 - Religion & Spirituality - 13 Answers - Comments

A. Yes we still are being genetically mutated, the Egyptians did it, Germans did it, & the United states Government is doing it. What you are stating is very much a theory, but lots of it could be true as well. I heard of this folklore and if you read the bible carefully & the other books not written in the bible, some of it reflects what you said to the point. Its amazing what is, what was & what will be ! Make the right choice, dont make the wrong choice to live rightously !
Answered by - Fri Oct 7 01:54:04 2011

A question about the hayflick limit?
Q. If someone were to find a way to remove the hayflick limit entirely, and also prevent genomic instability/cancer, would that, biologically at least, give someone immortality?
Asked by - Fri Nov 4 22:49:43 2011 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. If you could guarantee an indefinitely stable reserve of stem cells (effectively what you are describing), it would not be sufficient. Connective tissue wears down; bones lose calcium. More importantly, plaque will continue to accumulate in blood vessels, ultimately resulting on organ failure. Lastly, have a reserve of stem cells does not guarantee that they will be able to replace critical cells. A small region of the brain, the substantia nigra, loses neurons. If they are not replaced, everyone would have Parkinsonism by the age of 150 or so.
Answered by novangelis - Fri Nov 4 23:59:52 2011

I've got a Question about h GH?
Q. Now, since this hormone stimulates the growth and reproduction of cells would it also cause accelerated aging? I mean especially for the senior citzens sure they'd feel great in the short-run but wouldn't using such means cause more of their cells to reach the Hayflick limit, and wouldn't that in turn cause more harm and accelerate aging?
Asked by vivacioustoawy - Tue Feb 2 22:00:20 2010 - Other - Health - 2 Answers - Comments

A. Yes sir it does increase aging. It speeds up the growth of cell's which results in the person getting older as-well. Its proven as people who are born with excess GH have a much shorter life expectancy than people who are deficient in it.
Answered by Trajity - Tue Feb 2 22:08:49 2010

Tell me about the hayflick limit?
Q. From a quick scan of the web, I'm getting told that for normal human cells, the "hayflick limit" is around 60 divisions. Doesn't that seem really small? So our cells only divide 60 times?
Asked by Rajiv - Sat Dec 4 06:32:09 2010 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. Sixty doublings produce about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 cells. The human body has about 10,000,000,000,000 cells, so there is roughly a 100,000-fold reserve. While 60 times seems small, it can produce more than enough cells. Appearances can be deceiving, especially when exponents are involved.
Answered by novangelis - Sat Dec 4 07:23:23 2010

Is there a relation between "sin" and the Hayflick limit?
Q. Normal somatic cells can only divide a certain number of times (known as the Hayflick limit) due to a built in genetic timer. Since this is what causes age and eventually death, is there some relation between sin and this genetic timer?
Asked by Purple Moogle - Tue Aug 26 11:03:27 2008 - Religion & Spirituality - 1 Answers - Comments

A. If there really were a connection between "sin" and the Hayflick limit, this would mean that - animals are sinning, since the limit applies to them as well - single-cellular organisms are free of sin, since they can divide indefinitely - sin would be somehow connected to life span and life expectation and so on. Sounds pretty weird. In fact, "sin" is a purely religious term and does not exist in the real world.
Answered by NaturalBornKieler - Tue Aug 26 11:18:57 2008

Science homework help!?
Q. What is the 'Hayflick Limit'? i dont understand, i missed class that day and google makes it very confusing, can someone explain it to me in simple terms :) Cheers
Asked by Starzz - Tue Oct 27 18:48:25 2009 - Homework Help - 1 Answers - Comments

A. It's the amount of times a cell can divide before it reaches its "hayflick" limit, stops dividing and dies. This limit occurs because the end of the DNA strand - the telemere - is destroyed and hence the cell can then be destroyed. Cancerous cells do not ever reach this Hayflick limit and therefore don't die themselves and require radioactive treatment such as chemotherapy to kill the cells.
Answered by curlygirl - Tue Oct 27 19:35:05 2009

Hayflik Limit?
Q. What has hayflick limit got to do with stem cells?
Asked by Joanne W - Sun Jun 8 07:18:36 2008 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. From Wiki: The Hayflick limit is the number of times a cell will divide before it stops due to the telomere reaching a critical length. So, the stem cells are NOT affected by the Hayflick limit because they are undifferentiated.
Answered by bakazioneeztuh_23 - Sun Jun 8 07:51:30 2008

How many times can a NORMAL cell divide?
Q. Is the Hayflick limit 50 or 52?
Asked by ... - Mon Jun 8 07:24:02 2009 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. 52. And yeah, the Hayflick limit is the number of times a cell will divide before it stops due to the telomere reaching a critical length.
Answered by MatT - Mon Jun 8 07:38:51 2009

frequency of cell division and the hayflick limit?
Q. So, I looked up how often cells divide in a human body. After going through many unhelpful answers along the lines of "different cells divide at different rates, some very frequently, some very rarely", I found out only about intestinal cells, which seem to divide every week or so (and that seems to be one of the fastest). But then the Hayflick limit rule states that normal human cells can only divide upto about 52 times before they stop and die away. Why does this not mean that human intestines rot away when a human baby reaches two years of age? As an added question, how often DO normal human cells (such as skin cells) divide anyway?
Asked by The Grannyator - Sat Aug 20 21:39:56 2011 - Biology - 1 Answers - Comments

A. A set of cells can duplicate to produce stem cells. The stem cells, found in the base of the crypts in the case of the intestine, can remain in reserve and be recruited a few at a time, as needed. They will generate intestinal cells for a while, then the next stem cell is activated. The number 52 you give is not a firm value--I suspect someone picked that value to match weeks in a year. Some cells can replicate more (~60x).
Answered by novangelis - Sat Aug 20 21:55:51 2011

Is there a telomerase repair gene in humans?
Q. Is there a gene that repairs telomerase so it doesn't shorten length after mitosis or a way to stop it from shortening so it goes beyond the hayflick limit If telomerase remains the same, then could we live forever, provided that we get our nutritional needs and don't die from any diseases or accidents? Why aren't we studying this right now, but instead, putting most of our energy into stuff like eco-friendliness and agriculture tech and green technology
Asked by The Man - Sun Jun 5 22:07:40 2011 - Biology - 4 Answers - Comments

A. Hi it looks like the question you are asking is: is there a telomere repair gene that prevents shortening of chromosomes as opposed to a telomerase repair gene that repairs telomerase itself. Telomerase is a series of proteins assembled from a series of genes into at least 2 identifiable components or sub units. There are actually many more but before the actual subunit components were well understood they were named things like shelterin and h TERT. There are gene and protein repair mechanisms for all proteins to some degree so it s reasonable to assume the telomerase enzyme can be repaired to some extent if it is damaged or missing something but in cases where damage to this enzyme that is not repairable disease results. Same thing it… [cont.]
Answered by - Mon Jun 6 09:49:58 2011

Can cancer be a good thing in the future?
Q. I know it's bad and people die from it, but is there some good in it. As far as I've been taught, it's ionised cells causing them to have no hayflick limit. Kind of like stems cells but just out of control. Getting something good out of something bad by say skin cancer, could you grow skin if you removed it from someone suffering from it. Cancer to me seems more like immortality in the future apart from the facts it's out of control. What if cells regrew itstead of died? Brain cells organ and such, I don't know, does this make any sense?
Asked by - Wed Dec 28 15:54:02 2011 - Cancer - 2 Answers - Comments

A. Hi Jenny, whether cancer is good or bad depends on who you talk to. The official story is that cancer is a horrible disease that either comes out of no-where or is genetic; doctors often tell people that if their parents had cancer, then they are at greater risk! (Despite the fact that in certain areas such as Okinawa, cancer was unheard of until Mc Donalds showed up!) Thankfully, heroic pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to find a cure, and if people just keep donating to cancer research, a cure is just around the corner! In reality, cancer is a perfectly normal part of a healthy body. The subconscious mind orders the creation of millions of new cancer cells every day. They work hand in hand with the immune system. So… [cont.]
Answered by - Wed Dec 28 17:58:23 2011