Until Leonard Hayflick came along, everyone thought cells were immortal. That they’d divide over and over again, forever. Hayflick torpedoes that theory and proved that there is limit. A very predictable limit: a magic number. To thank him, science textbooks everywhere now refer to that as ‘the Hayflick limit.’
While Hayflick’s discovery may seem like a buzzkill for those in search of immortality… fear not! Rules were meant to be broken, and Hayflick, now a Professor of Anatomy at the University of California, points out how one might tinker with this limit in the lab…and the potential dangers of doing so. The limit is different, it turns out, for different animals. There are tortoises that live for centuries, and lobsters that seem to be ageless.
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Comments [7]
Just heard this on San Diego's KPBS.... I was floored by this story. Thank you so much for excellent journalism.
Everything is a choice. Every single thing in life is a choice.
Stem cell research has made such huge scientific leaps of progress. Stem cells are not humans, they just have the potential to become humans. Its similar to many religious beliefs that any protected sex is wrong.. it too is inhibiting life to form.
Does the benefit out way the means? Cure hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions from cells. Yes.
abbortion is a choice every choice can be rational and irrational it depends on the state of mind
so if one decision is rational it doesn't mean the opposing choice isn't
Did I hear you say abortion is "rational"?
So logically, those that respect the rights of the unborn are "irrational"? Seems to me science supports the fact that a "fetus" is a human.
Is there no connection between 50 fetal cell divisions taking 9 months and the 9 months of pregnancy?
I would like to second Angie's comments. I have used WI-38 cells in my own research never knowing that this was the same cell line in which Leonard Hayflick first observed his eponymous limit. It was a thrill to hear his story... from him! Great podcast; it makes commuting fun.
THANK YOU so much for having Leonard Hayflick on your show. He has been one of my scientist heroes for a long time, and is the reason I am working in cellular aging. Each one of your episodes seems eerily entwined with my particular research interests. three cheers for this podcast
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