8-Year-Old Never Ages, Could Reveal 'Biological Immortality'

[NickNitro]

http://gma.yahoo.com/8-old-11-pounds-never-ages-040317717--abc-news-health.html


The little girl from Billings, Mont., is 8 years old, but weighs only 11 pounds. Gabby has a mysterious condition, shared by only a handful of others in the world, that slows her rate of aging.

For the past two years, a doctor who has been trying to find the genetic off-switch to stop the aging process has been studying Gabby, as well as two other people who have striking similarities.

A 29-year-old Florida man has the body of a 10-year-old, and a 31-year-old Brazilian woman is the size of a 2-year-old. Like Gabby, neither seems to grow older.

 

[Mike_D202]

Every time I hear a story like this, it never ends well. There's always some health concern over an abnormality like this, mostly having to do with a heart problem.

 

[Pink Ranger]

 

[Vid Electricz]

*Insert predictable Benjamin Button joke here*

 

[dodong27]

Wow.. that's amazing and at the same time a bit scary. I hope health-wise she'll be fine?

 

[Spider-Who?]

Every time I hear a story like this, it never ends well. There's always some health concern over an abnormality like this, mostly having to do with a heart problem.

Yeah people hear stories like this and think how amazing capitalizing on this abnormality could be...I've even heard people WISH for this (and I'm not talking about mythical youth or whatever). The sad fact is that you are right, this condition leads to other serious - even deadly - health issues. Never mind the psychological issues dealing with something like this would cause not just to the one who has it, but their family as well.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Isn't this some terrible genetic disease that ravages the body and causes organ failure? Similar to progeria. The girl looks unbelievably sick in the link and whoever wrote this is guilty of romanticizing an awful and deadly disease. The girl is dying.

 

[Teelie]

There are other conditions like this. One is extreme where an "infant" is something like 30 years old. Her parents have been constantly living with a newborn for three decades. That one isn't the same as the Brazilian case though and was talked about last year.

The potential for this genetic "off switch" is great but the cost might be too much if it cannot be uncoupled from the serious side effects that accompany it. Not to mention that life is meant to end at some point. Immortality has its downsides too, like a ballooning, unaging population that could ultimately reach the trillions of individuals.

And people think we're over populated now with only a few billion.

 

[Lord]

Spending the rest of the life as an infant doesn't sound very good, but having the body in the 20-30s seems like the best time. I heard this disease before, there are a lot of problems that come with it, and unless we're going to colonize mars i see no reason to exploit the possibility of immortality, unless it's limited to some rich dudes who are probably right now operating in the shadows. Hey i just created another conspiracy theory.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Spending the rest of the life as an infant doesn't sound very good, but having the body in the 20-30s seems like the best time. I heard this disease before, there are a lot of problems that come with it, and unless we're going to colonize mars i see no reason to exploit the possibility of immortality, unless it's limited to some rich dudes who are probably right now operating in the shadows. Hey i just created another conspiracy theory.

I'd completely believe that one too. Why give it to the common people when those in power can live forever.

I saw someone around where I live, 20's-30's and was barely taller than my toddler. Don't people like these end up with a lot of heart problems though?

 

[NickNitro]

George W. Bush will outlive our children, and our children's children.....shutters at the very thought....

 

[Mr.M]

Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. It is how we have evolved from a single-celled organism, to ****ing IMMORTALITY *****es!!!!

 

[GENERAL RAAM582]

I'd completely believe that one too. Why give it to the common people when those in power can live forever.

I saw someone around where I live, 20's-30's and was barely taller than my toddler. Don't people like these end up with a lot of heart problems though?

He could have been a dwarf. Just because your short doesn't mean you defy aging.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

He could have been a dwarf. Just because your short doesn't mean you defy aging.

Possible but she was abnormally small, smaller than many ice seen, but considering she didn't look 11 or anything, is guess your right.

 

[GENERAL RAAM582]

Possible but she was abnormally small, smaller than many ice seen, but considering she didn't look 11 or anything, is guess your right.

I'm pretty short myself, I think I'm probably taller than the dwarf you're talking about, but there are multiple forms.