Hi!
>So here is a question (that I actually don't know the answer to...),
>What is the shortest lived mammal? Or other short lived species
>that you could use as models for some aspects of aging in humans?
>I seem to recall vaguely there were some unusual animals from Australia
>that had short lifespans. What about up there in Alaska, got any
>seasonal species John?
I'm not sure but I would say the male Anthecinus (marsupial mice); it lives
only 1 year (one of the few cases of sudden death or Big Bang reproduction
in mammals). However it should be noticed that females live longer and even
males can live up to 3 years in the lab. But even looking at the maximum
life span under optimal conditions, I'm not aware of any mammal living less
than 3 years although certainly many rodents come close.
> Short-lived organisms allow scientists
>to do experiments and intervention tests more quickly.
True but I don't think you can locate the causes of human aging in
short-lived species. Of course you can use them as transgenics to
investigate human genes and investigate the basic metabolic processes than
can fail during aging; but I believe that to understand human aging you
can't base your research on short-lived species for the simple reason that,
based on evolutionary theory, they age for different causes than us
(although some metabolic pathways or genes might be common but following
that reasoning you can also study bacteria since the basic processes of life
are common to all organisms except virus). To put it simple: Why learn from
species that are behind us in the race for immortality.
Best wishes.
---
Joao Pedro de Magalhaes
The University of Namur (FUNDP)
Unit of Cellular Biochemistry & Biology
Rue de Bruxelles, 61
B-5000 Namur BELGIUM
Fax: + 32 81 724135
Phone: + 32 81 724133
Reason's Triumph: http://users.compaqnet.be/jpnitya/
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