Average life ... 10 years old

If you calculate the average age of all the cells in your body, you will not be too old . 10 years old. The cells in turn are regenerated, helping your body in a state of continuous innovation.

That is the conclusion of a group of biologists specializing in stem cell research at the Karolinska Institute, Switzerland.

Scientists have long believed that cells present when you are born are not the cells you have when you die. However, it is difficult to keep track of which cells in different parts of the adult body are replaced at any rate.

(Photo: clc.uc.edu) The key to discovery is from a nuclear experiment in the sky in the 50s and 60s of the last century: A large amount of C14 radioisotope carbon is released naturally in the air gas, then merged into plants and animals.

The C14 content dropped significantly after the nuclear test was stopped in 1963, but continued to be closely monitored by scientists, especially in the northern hemisphere. DNA in each cell contains 30% carbon. When a cell divides to form new cells, everything is doubled, including DNA. The carbon that cells use to make this new DNA comes from food.

Therefore, the concentration of intracellular C14 is equivalent to the amount of C14 in the air at the time of DNA formation. In other words, by measuring C14 in the cell, you can determine when the cell is born.

Professor Kirsty Spalding and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute were the first to study the amount of C14 in the growth rings of pine trees in Switzerland to determine the ratio of local people. Then they isolated cells from different body parts of Swiss corpses born before and after the nuclear tests.

They discovered that the average age of cells in the main part of the intestine at age 30 was 15.9 years . The muscular layer surrounding the ribs in people nearly 40 years old is 15.1 years old. We know, that blood cells are constantly being replaced. In fact, almost every part of our bodies is renewed constantly.

However, the team was most interested in the results in brain tissue. They found that all nerve cells in the occipital lobe of the cerebral cortex (that is, the part of the brain involved in processing visual information) are nearly as old as the subject.

From there, another controversial point arises, which was created a short time after we were born, and survived like that for the rest of our lives. The discovery of Swiss scientists also has other important meanings. The cell's ability to determine 'birthdays' will help researchers uncover the secret of degeneration, the impact of illness, injury and old age. It also helps us understand clearly about obesity and diabetes.

For example : When we get fat, do we produce new fat cells completely? Will insulin-producing cells reproduce? Measuring the amount of C14 in tooth enamel (tooth enamel that exists with us for a lifetime) helps us accurately calculate the age of the subject. This is the method that Swedish police have applied to identify tsunami victims in 2004.

In Australia, scientists are working with stem cells - a special type of cell that facilitates the production of new cells - and has studied new blood production, new pancreatic cells to fight diabetes. Street. They also help patients with lung disease by reclaiming cells that are able to renew and replace.

However, there is still a question: If the cell changes constantly, why does this process stop? Why are we old and dead? Perhaps stem cells will age with time and lose the ability to create new cells. It could also be because we squeezed our supply. One thing is certain: By the time we find the answer, we are new people.