Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) encodes ribosomal RNA and exists as tandem repeats of hundreds of copies in the eukaryotic genome to meet the high demand of ribosome biogenesis. Tandemly repeated DNA elements ...are inherently unstable; thus, mechanisms must exist to maintain rDNA copy number (CN), in particular in the germline that continues through generations. A phenomenon called rDNA magnification was discovered over 50 y ago in Drosophila as a process that recovers the rDNA CN on chromosomes that harbor minimal CN. Our recent studies indicated that rDNA magnification is the mechanism to maintain rDNA CN under physiological conditions to counteract spontaneous CN loss that occurs during aging. Our previous studies that explored the mechanism of rDNA magnification implied that asymmetric division of germline stem cells (GSCs) may be particularly suited to achieve rDNA magnification. However, it remains elusive whether GSCs are the unique cell type that undergoes rDNA magnification or differentiating germ cells are also capable of magnification. In this study, we provide empirical evidence that suggests that rDNA magnification operates uniquely in GSCs, but not in differentiating germ cells. We further provide computer simulation that suggests that rDNA magnification is only achievable through asymmetric GSC divisions. We propose that despite known plasticity and transcriptomic similarity between GSCs and differentiating germ cells, GSCs' unique ability to divide asymmetrically serves a critical role of maintaining rDNA CN through generations, supporting germline immortality.
The genre of family pedigrees is now becoming more widespread. However, as a speech genre, it has hardly been studied. The author began collecting data on genealogies in 2002, compiled a personal ...archive of family genealogies in 30 volumes, which is partly reflected in the database “Fragments of family genealogies”: certificate of state registration of the database No. 2014620814 dated June 3, 2013. Three dissertations on this issue have been defended and a large number of articles and books have been published. Now arises a question of the peculiarities of pedigrees as a speech genre. The preparation of the book “History of the Motherland in the Mirrors of Family Genealogy” (Belgorod, 2021, 420 p.) brings up this topic. It turns out that it is fragments from genealogies, taken in the plural, and comments to them that allow us to more objectively consider the history of the country in all its contradictions and cataclysms. Fragments of pedigrees become research material. The first part of the book deals with history (the revolution, the 1920s, the 1930s, etc.), the second – with family (grandfather, grandmother …). Between these parts there is a life environment, a spatial sector which we cannot avoid. In the end, a forward is made to the present time with the emphasis on how family genealogies insured people against many troubles. The article aims both at the study of family genealogy and at recording what else can be recorded and preserved for future descendants.
According to Huemer (2019), existence is evidence of immortality, provided past time is infinite. The argument is based on, inter alia, an alleged contradiction between the fact of one’s existence ...now and its improbability. I suggest that Huemer’s argument is flawed in equating the infinitesimally small with its limit value, and in assuming a philosophically significant difference between the a priori probability of the occurrence of a unique incarnation and that of anyone among an infinite number.
Substance dualism says that all thinking beings are immaterial. This sits awkwardly with the fact that thinking requires an intact brain. Many dualists say that bodily activity is causally necessary ...for thinking. But if a material thing can cause thinking, why can’t it think? No argument for dualism, however convincing, answers this question, leaving dualists with more to explain than their opponents.
Following doctoral studies in sociology, an interesting work has been published on the impact of digital technologies on the commemorative practices of cultural heroes. The book is structured around ...the analysis of many case studies that help the reader to better understand the new social and cultural contexts of the hereafter. The research author is Dr Ștefania Matei, who carefully analyses the social processes that articulate the posthumous presence and highlights the mutations she observes în practice and the meanings of social immortality due to the influences of digital facilities.
The distribution of telomere length in humans is broad, but it has finite upper and lower boundaries. Growing evidence shows that there are disease processes that are caused by both short and long ...telomere length extremes. The genetic basis of these short and long telomere syndromes may be linked to mutations in the same genes, such as the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), but through differential effects on telomere length. Short telomere syndromes have a predominant degenerative phenotype marked by organ failure that most commonly manifests as pulmonary fibrosis and are associated with a relatively low cancer incidence. In contrast, insights from studies of cancer-prone families as well as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified both rare and common variants that lengthen telomeres as being strongly associated with cancer risk. We have hypothesized that these cancers represent a long telomere syndrome that is associated with a high penetrance of cutaneous melanoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In this Review, we will synthesize the clinical and human genetic observations with data from mouse models to define the role of telomeres in cancer etiology and biology.
Germ cells are the only cell type that is capable of transmitting genetic information to the next generation, which has enabled the continuation of multicellular life for the last 1.5 billion years. ...Surprisingly little is known about the mechanisms supporting the germline's remarkable ability to continue in this eternal cycle, termed germline immortality. Even unicellular organisms age at a cellular level, demonstrating that cellular aging is inevitable. Extensive studies in yeast have established the framework of how asymmetric cell division and gametogenesis may contribute to the resetting of cellular age. This review examines the mechanisms of germline immortality-how germline cells reset the aging of cells-drawing a parallel between yeast and multicellular organisms.
The Westminster Confession's teaching on 'eternal torments' has nuances that need to be explored, and the historical context can be brought into sharper focus. Despite an almost deceptive simplicity, ...the chapters are contextually poignant. Also considered is just how vital eternal torments and eschatology are to the document. Puritanical eschatological expectation was rife in the 1630s and 40s, and Christ's return was held to be the principal issue, so chs 32-33 are no mere addendum. The proposal is that eschatology, with eternal torments, forms one of the Confession's metanarratives and is a contender for that which has architectonic status. Eschatology is woven throughout. It is an eschatological Confession.
Why Immortality Could Be Good Fischer, John Martin
International journal of philosophical studies : IJPS,
01/2024, Letnik:
32, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
I revisit my article, "Why Immortality Is Not So Bad," in which I argued that Bernard Williams's thesis that immortality would necessarily be boring for any human being is false. Here I point out ...various ways in which Williams's treatment of the issues has tilted and distorted the subsequent debates.
Journalism and Religion Fahira Fejzić-Čengić
In medias res (Zagreb, Online),
09/2022, Letnik:
11, Številka:
21
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The moral law is a pure existing fact of our mind and it is not conditioned by anything external. That universal law, when it is ordered and applied, is superior to our ‘happiness’ or ‘unhappiness’, ...far from today’s pragmatic form of moralizing and its relativization, as everyone has their own personal, personal, ego-morality that does not refer to any universal principle. To be able to feel such a pure inner moral law as human beings, we must be free beings and beings who believe in their immortality, souls as such. Today’s age has never refuted this pure Kantian foundation of Sulejmanpašić’s reasoning more strongly than to be truly surprised to appear from somewhere and see projects in the company of media that advocate and ‘make’ technical immortality for the existing material man...
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