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Scientists have figured out how to snip DNA from human cells and insert it into mice embryos to let previously color blind mice see color. Before the mice didn’t grow the right kind of cone cells in their retina; now they do. Eventually I expect this therapy to be available for people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201841.html?nav=rss_nation

Of course it doesn’t have to stop at curing colorblindness. Perhaps people could be given the cells of creatures that sense ultraviolet or infrared light, for example.

Will we be the generation that sees many Science Fiction fantasies turn into realities?

Consider the following proposition: almost every human brain is like a muscle that can be trained to learn anything to a high level of mastery or have any kind of personality. People who seem exceptional have just learned more, often as a result of greater concentration, either purposefully or unknowingly done by them.

Many people don’t believe this proposition, but I have from a very young age. I assumed even if it wasn’t true, it was a good thing to assume to be true, because I’d end up limiting myself less.

It’s nice to finally have some scientific evidence backing up this idea: http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/features/dweck.html

I read an interesting Fortune magazine article that profiles Sirtris, a startup company that is trying to develop age slowing technologies based on the recent discoveries about resveratrol.

What’s resveratrol? As the magazine article states:

Resveratrol is the ingredient in red wine that made headlines in November [2006] when scientists demonstrated that it kept overfed mice from gaining weight, turned them into the equivalent of Olympic marathoners, and seemed to slow down their aging process. Few medical discoveries have generated so much instant buzz - even Jay Leno riffed about it in his opening monologue.

Prior to this new research on resveratrol, the one known way in mammals to slow down some of the markers of aging has been caloric restriction. Caloric restriction has certainly worked in lower order mammals, but large scale human studies have yet to be completed. Even if caloric restriction was shown to work in people, it would probably be difficult for people to have the discipline to do, since it effects lifestyle pretty significantly.

The Fortune article stated something interesting about resveratrol’s relation to caloric restriction:

The mouse studies [examining the effect of resveratrol] also gave hints that resveratrol induces basic metabolic changes akin to those that [caloric restriction] does. One of the most intriguing was the production of fresh mitochondria, the key components of cells that serve as power generators; they essentially burn sugar in slow motion to release energy. But like coal-burning power plants, mitochondria also pollute. In particular, they spew highly reactive chemicals called free radicals, which damage DNA and other important molecules in cells. Over time the radicals deteriorate the mitochondria themselves, which degrades their efficiency, causing yet heavier production of free radicals. The end result is a cell-degrading snowball effect that is thought to be a major cause of aging.

Here’s the entire Fortune article:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/18/magazines/fortune/Live_forever.fortune/index.htm