Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

Although that seems worrisome, it is actually helpful in a sense.
Every time a cell divides, there is a chance that the ripping apart
of the strands of the DNA will accidentally knock out a rung in
the ladder. It gets replaced but not always by the same base. This
changes the genetic code.
Sometimes, this is not a problem, but sometimes, it means that
the newly created DNA gives the wrong instructions to the cell.
It turns the cell from a helpful part of the system to a wrench
in the system. And as that non-helping cell divides, it creates
more copies of itself, crowding out the cells that are supposed
to be present. This is cancer.
By making sure that the cells divide only a certain number
of times, we have an internal means of trying to minimize
cancer risk.
It seems that cancer cells would die when their telomeres run out,
but some cancer cells produce their own telomerase, an enzyme
that rebuilds the telomeres in cells. The cancer cells replenish
themselves, which means that they continue to divide while
the healthy cells die out. The result is a tumor that grows until it
interferes with the body’s functioning.
Could we beat cancer at its own game? Could we cure cancer by
cancer cells burn themselves out? And in the other direction, could
we use telomerase inducers to reverse aging and make our cells—
and possibly ourselves—immortal? Research has shown that this
seems to be possible in mice.
We fear death, and as a result, our technology has raised the
possibility of avoiding it. But we must ask: Does this possibility
rob us of our humanity? Would immortality rob life of meaning or
allow us the time to do all we want and, thereby, fully realize the
complete potential of our lives?
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