I would use the word "destroy" rather than kill for something that is not
alive. It is true what I have heard that one can use very old cells to clone
a long dead animal? Is that true? If true, how old can those cells be? Do
such cells ever die?
Take care,
Moorad
-----Original Message-----
From: Biochmborg@aol.com <Biochmborg@aol.com>
To: alexanian@uncwil.edu <alexanian@uncwil.edu>; evolution@calvin.edu
<evolution@calvin.edu>; asa@calvin.edu <asa@calvin.edu>
Date: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: Life in the Lab -- Fox and the Nobel Prize
>In a message dated 5/5/99 9:45:30 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
>alexanian@uncwil.edu writes:
>
>> Death is the cessation of life, isn't it? Is there some living, material
>> thing that is eternal?
>
>That depends upon what you mean by eternal. However, cancer cells are
>biologically immortal, in that as long as you do not kill them, they will
>grow and reproduce indefinately, never "aging" or wearing out or dying when
>they get too old. Nor do they self-terminate like normal cells do. They
are
>as close as anything natural can be to eternal.
>
>In any event, I don't see what this has to do with protocells. You can
kill
>protocells and they self-destruct like normal cells, so I guess using your
>reasoning that that would prove that they are alive.
>
>Kevin L. O'Brien