Unreasonable Speculation

It is reasonable to plausibly speculate on the further usefulness and direction of your research, but there are always those who cross the line. This short note from UPI is a good example. You simply cannot say that vitamin C will slow aging in humans from this study on accelerated aging in mice. As the quote goes, you can shorten life in mice by means of a blunt instrument, but that doesn't make hammers a part of the aging process, nor absence of bludgeoning a way to extend life. Scientists "analyzed a specific protein that decreases as aging proceeds and found it was the same as an enzyme that synthesizes vitamin C ... After six months of observation, researchers said normal mice without the protein were all still alive, but half of the ones lacking the protein had died of old age. ... Since humans are unable to produce vitamin C in their body even if they have the protein, the results of the experiment do not directly indicate vitamin C is effective in preventing aging in humans." I'll say.

Link: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060404-104504-5994r

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