Monday, September 04, 2006

SEARCH FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH CONTINUES


After the death of the world’s oldest woman this week at the age of 116, her family attributed the secret of her long life to drinking donkey’s milk! With continuing advances in medicine and technology, scientists say that in the future it could well be the norm for people to live well into their 100’s. But would we want to? Critics argue that an ageing population living longer would have a devastating affect on our already cash-strapped National Health Service and the country’s economy. However scientists believe that as technology advances people could live longer and still be fit and healthy.

As the argument continues, it seems that more and more of us are seeking the fountain of youth. Anti-ageing is big business as people continue to look for products and treatments that will keep them eternally youthful and stop the harmful effects of time. One man in particular is hoping to jump on the bandwagon. Jeya Prakash, a Harley Street plastic surgeon, claims to have found the secret of eternal youth in the form of regular injections of human growth hormone. Jeya states that himself and his wife have been on the wonder treatment for 18 months and are living proof that it works. The good doctor is planning to set up a clinic to administer the injections to the likes of you and I for a no doubt large fee. I must say I’m sceptical to say the least, even if Jeya’s wife looks youthful enough to pass for his daughter. Also human growth hormone, when administered regularly in large doses can have serious side-effects, including high blood pressure and diabetes. But for some people who will stop at nothing to reverse the effects of time, the gains no doubt outweigh the risks.

Also in the news this week, scientists in Manchester have made a dramatic breakthrough in their quest to find a cure for baldness, in the form of a protein code that tells cells to sprout more hair. By sending the protein code to more cells, they were able to breed mice with more fur.

Picture:- Courtesy of BBC Website

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