On Gene Expression and Aging
Chris Patil of Ouroboros makes a good point while discussing a study of changes in gene expression in the aging liver: "A question unasked and therefore unanswered in this and many papers is what, if anything, age-related changes in gene expression signify: Are they deleterious, protective, passive responses to damage-induced signals, neutral, or other? It's a gigantic question, far beyond the scope of any one paper." I recall that Aubrey de Grey has suggested that we should fix or prevent all such changes in the course of a full-on attack on the aging process (or at least those that remain after other issues have been dealt with). From where I stand, it's an open question as to whether biotechnology - and the implementation timeline for specific improvements to healthy life extension medicine - will advance in a way that makes that approach more or less practical than identifying and fixing changes that are root causes of further problems.