Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Life, Death, and Mitochondria
Newsweek has an article about the science of reviving people from sudden cardiac arrest. A human under normal circumstances can go about five minutes without a heartbeat. Scientists would like increase this time. The keys to doing this seem to be temperature and mitochondria.
We've known for years that people who fall into icy ponds often can escape from the five minute rule. Research on heart attack patients also has shown that intentionally cooling their bodies, sometimes to as low as 92 degree Fahrenheit, lessens damage and improves survivability. In spite of this research, only about 225 hospitals, out of more than 5,700 in the United States, have installed hypothermia machines, so scientists are also looking for drugs that can induce the same effect and the key to that might be mitochondria.
Mitochondria seem to play a key role in the process of cell death. Mitochondria control the cell's self-destruct mechanism, known as apoptosis, and a related process, necrosis. Apoptosis is a natural function, destroying cells that are no longer needed or have been damaged in some way. In patients who have suffered cardiac arrest, apoptosis proceeds by a complex sequence of reactions—including inflammation, oxidation and cell-membrane breakdown. Stopping this process is the key to saving lives and reducing damage.
If we put aside catastrophic events such as cardiac arrest, we know the only well-studied way to increase longevity of orgasms is through caloric restriction. Reducing daily intake below normal increases lifespan. It also incidentally results in a slower metabolic rate and a lower body temperature. Reducing temperature extends life in catastrophic events; reducing body temperature on a routine basis extends longevity. There may be something crucial in this. Running the body at a higher temperature burns it out just as running car engine with too little oil will burn out a car engine.
Back to Life: The Science of Reviving the Dead - Newsweek Technology -MSNBC.com
We've known for years that people who fall into icy ponds often can escape from the five minute rule. Research on heart attack patients also has shown that intentionally cooling their bodies, sometimes to as low as 92 degree Fahrenheit, lessens damage and improves survivability. In spite of this research, only about 225 hospitals, out of more than 5,700 in the United States, have installed hypothermia machines, so scientists are also looking for drugs that can induce the same effect and the key to that might be mitochondria.
Mitochondria seem to play a key role in the process of cell death. Mitochondria control the cell's self-destruct mechanism, known as apoptosis, and a related process, necrosis. Apoptosis is a natural function, destroying cells that are no longer needed or have been damaged in some way. In patients who have suffered cardiac arrest, apoptosis proceeds by a complex sequence of reactions—including inflammation, oxidation and cell-membrane breakdown. Stopping this process is the key to saving lives and reducing damage.
If we put aside catastrophic events such as cardiac arrest, we know the only well-studied way to increase longevity of orgasms is through caloric restriction. Reducing daily intake below normal increases lifespan. It also incidentally results in a slower metabolic rate and a lower body temperature. Reducing temperature extends life in catastrophic events; reducing body temperature on a routine basis extends longevity. There may be something crucial in this. Running the body at a higher temperature burns it out just as running car engine with too little oil will burn out a car engine.
Back to Life: The Science of Reviving the Dead - Newsweek Technology -MSNBC.com
# posted by Jim Cross : 3:04 PM
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