on aging and arborists

"Why would evolution select for organisms with renewable tissues, given the danger of developing cancer? The benefits of renewable tissues—the ability to regenerate or repair tissues damaged by injury or endogenous degenerative processes—may have outweighed their risks...Gatekeeper tumor suppressors act on cells, causing them to die (apoptosis) or permanently arrest proliferation (senescence)...traits that benefit young organisms—suppressing cancer, for example—can have unselected deleterious effects—driving aging phenotypes, for example—later in the life span" (Campisi 2005).

Oolong thinks this is one of the most beautiful papers she has ever read, explaining how aging may have evolved as a side-effect of cancer suppression. Basically, our bodies have regulating processes that kill or "freeze" oncogenic cells; this safety measure, however, is a source of age-related cell decline and death. Above, a dividing cancer cell; note the finger-like projections typical of a cancer cell.

On another note, Oolong now knows what she would like to do with the rest of her life--become a tree doctor. Seriously, enough with skin cells--bring on the leaves! She leaves you with pictures of trees. Forget yarn--this is the real porn.


Oolong is secretly contemplating emailing the UVa arborist to ask him to let her become a tree doctor intern. Updates to come. She leaves you with a photo of the whole gang from Halloween, when they all dressed up as computer commands. "Don't judge" is becoming the motto of her life.