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Show Longer Life Is Hope From Study of Age, Scientists Hold Cells of Aged Animals Found to Grow Rapidly MILLIONS are alive today who, if they had been born a generation or two ago, would have fallen victims to smallpox, diphtheria or one of the other great killers of former times. The disease fighters of modern medical science learned to conquer these plagues, only to be confronted with other disease enemies ene-mies of an entirely different sort cancer, heart and kidney disease. Diseases of the heart and blood vessels which today take first place as cause of death are due not so much to "germs" and poisons as to the process of growing old. At Columbia university the problem prob-lem is being attacked by a study of the 'aging process itself. An important im-portant first step was taken when one of the Columbia investigators, Dr. Henry S. Simms, found that the body cells of aging animals will grow outside the body In what are called tissue cultures Just as readily read-ily as cells from the bodies of very young animals. Study Aging Process. While the cells of aged animals will grow as readily, however, another an-other Columbia scientist found that some of these aged cells do not function as well. It seems to depend de-pend on which organs of the body the cells came from. This seems to parallel the' fact that some organs of the body, the heart, for instance, wear out and are unable to keep going go-ing or functioning normally earlier than other organs. The cells from the lymph glands and the liver showed the greatest decrease in functional activity. Long Time Required. "Just how much significance Is to be attached to these observations is not known at present," Dr. James W. Jobling, professor of pathology at Columbia College of rhysicians and Surgeons, said In describing the studies of aged tissues. "But we hope to expand and continue con-tinue this phase of the work, for It Is possible that here we may find some clew to the answers we are seeking. Studies are also being conducted con-ducted on cancer and arteriosclerosis." |