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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1963)
8 THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 14. 19E3 MEOFORO MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON demee Speonds Utile to Extend Life's By ROBERT MUSEL United Pri International London - (UPll - Some primi tive tribes have been known to get rid of the old folk! by pegging them out in the snow or the wilderness and letting them die. No one would dare accuse civilization of such direct methods. In fact there would be an outcry if anyone were blunt enough to suggest that western man was in no posi tion to criticize his aboriginal cousin on this custom. But there are scientists who believe that thousands, perhaps millions, of senior citizens in our advanced so ciety die before their time, or do not live at long as they might, simply because the amount spent on research to keep the . healthy and active is totally inadequate. Foods Sati Custom The remote tribesman lets his parents go because he must. In the desperate con ditions of some primitive so cieties those who can no longer provide their own food must die for the want of it. Civilization does not have this excuse. The key that will unlock some of the secrets of longevity and provide healthier and longer lives for present and future genera tions is well known. It is money, lots of it, brought to bear on research which l-. at lea ?t, promising. Out of every 1UU.O0O people born in western countries on the level of the United States about 200 live to be more than 100 years old. But 70.000 of this group will die before the age of 80. Geran tologists - specialists in aging - believe they can narrow the gap given something approxi mating the vast sums lavished on the maladies of youth. Extend Human Life Now comes the strangest part of the story. For work crs in the field find, surpris ingly, very little enthusiasm for research to extend humcn life. Some of them report apathy and lack of public in terest. Dr. John Bray, the British pathologist who iden tificd the bacteria of infan tile gastro-cnteritis, one of the big killing diseases of in fancy, says he ran into defi-jture high, it might mean an- The Family Council Fdltor's note: Tho Family Council conilali ol ludcr. nnvrniatmt, mrce rlercymen, turee editors anil a women ' editor. Kach article li a summary of family dlnairecment presented to the .uu,i,,. me tuuuui uonib wun proDieniH. major and minor, enrountered hy guidance rounselors and uncial workers, tdlted by Mrs. P. V. We're stunned by her decision to become a nun. Mrs. E. T. They must let her deem." about her own life. - Mrs. P. V. We have an only daughter. She's 19 and in her second year at college. We expected her to become engaged to her steady beau this summer,. and eventually get married and make grand parents of us. Imagine the state we're in now that she has sprung the news on us that she's broken off with her boy friend, wants to quit school, and become a postulant in a convent. We are a religious family, but no body has gone so far as to join a monastic order. All we can figure is that someone from the church brainwashed her In a weak moment. My husband is a wreck over this turn of events. We keep hoping Ruth will reconsider. But my sisters and others say we should resign ourselves to having her be come a nun. Mrs. E. T. They should leave the girl alone. I know my sister and brother-in-law have had high hopes for Ruth. She's a bright, beautiful girl, and the apple of their eye. At one time she wanted to ba a doctor, but since entering col lege she hasn't mentioned Think Spring 1 J 9489 SIZES 14',i-24!i I -rrT 1)1 U6iCttt j THINK SPUING, and you'll be inspired to w this oar-y clcaneut shirldrcss. Has flip-up collar, raglan sleeves simple, so-dimming lines. Printed Uattern IU89: llulf Sizes 14'i, 16 1 2, 18'j, 20'j 22'a, 24 a. Sizes IB'; re quires yards ' 45-likli fabric. FIFTY CENTS in coins for this pattern - add 13 cents for each pattern for fir.sl-cluss mail. Send to Marian Martin Mcdford Mail Tribune, Pat tern Dept., 232 West 18lh Si.. Mew York 11, NY. Print plainly NAME. ADDRESS will, SIZE and STYLE NUM BER. FREE OFFER! Coupon In Spring Pattern Catalog for one pattern free - any one you choose from 300 design ideas. Send SO cents now for Catalog. that and hasn't shown much enthusiasm for anything. Now that I know why, I can understand the pressure she is under and I'm trying to gel my sister to stop moaning. In stead she should feel proud to have a daughter who wants to serve sclflcssly through the church. The trouble is that Ruth's parents are trying to live her life for her. She has other Ideas. She's old enough to know what appeals to her. And if she changes her mind, she can come home. The Council: In order lo round out a helpful answer for this family, we queried inends whose daughters had faced them with the samp an nouncement at Ruth's. What we say here is a composite of actual experience plus gen eral psychological sidelights. Mrs. V. would never for give herself it her "carrying- on forced Her daughter to abandon her plans and pursue a course or life pleasing lo her parents but unappealing to her.-They'd see the nrob- lem more dourly if thev looked neither lo the right nor to the left but sauarelv into the eyes (and heart, if possible) of their child. Never mind the parents down the block who have grand children. Never mind tho neighbor's daughter who has Just been appointed vice president of a Fifth Avenue department store. What would make Ruth happy? That's tho answer to concen trate upon. She herself feels that this Is what she wants lo be a professod nun. The only valid comment for a parent might be, "Why not take a year out In order lo be sure?" Ruth might spend that year holding down a job, mainly to lest her predilection for the disci plined, dedicated life of the convent. She's only li) and niHy agree In seek deeper ex perience in the outside world before taking the vows which limit this. But once she is absolutely certain thai her peace and happiness lie In Joining a holy Order, there should be noth ing but pride and encourage ment from tile parental cor ner. Suppose Ruth became a doctor and was miserable? Suppose she contracted a wretched marriage? Then her parents would have some thing lo be In a "slate" about. Instead, they'll he able to move along, playing a useful role iu t lie world, and enjoy ing It more each year. As Mrs. T., her aunt, re minds us. the decision is not irrevocable. There arc many points along Hie way where Ruth can drop out. Mean while, her family will sec her and be In touch with her on frequent occasions, for many of the Orders-thr Dominican for one - have lenient rules on that. As for grandchildren, we quote the lather of a nun who Is teaching 2nd grade and "has" ;i!l i liildren: "She adores them, they love her. When we visit her class we me we have moro 'grand children' than any of our friends. And we rcioice lo be the parents of this beautiful soul who Is livlnu ex.ietly the sort of lite she wants to lie. nitc hostility. lie found this so disturbing that he has changed the ob jectives of a private fund he established five years ago for basic research into aging. It will now deal with the physi cal well being of the elderly although he himself will con tinue his own study of germ which seems to have some effect on cholesterol the waxy substance implicat ed in hardening of the ar teries. Pressure on Youth "You get the reaction that it would be a bad thing if the population of the world were greatly added to," Dr, Bray told United Press Inter national. "The pressure is to help youth. "It's easy to move people emotionally about youth. But as for the old - well, they've had their day, the sooner they get off the stage the better and so on. "That's the sort of thing you hear. It reminds me of a short story I once read, II G. Wells I think, about youth being antagonistic to the thought of extending life be cause it meant they would have lo wait longer lo in hcrit." Bray's experience is not unique. One of tho scientists he has been in touch with, Dr. Johan Bjorkstcn of the Bjorkslen Research founda lion of Madison, Wis. - author of a widely-discussed theory of aging - also reported he had run into obstacles in his own efforts lo prolong life. Age Unavoidable Finnish-born Dr. Bjorkstcn, who is chairman of the board of the American Institute of Chemists, said one of these was indifference caused by a public conviction that aging and senilily, as well as death, arc as unavoidable as taxes. Another was "fear" of the political problems that would be created .1 populations were ncreascd through control of ageing without a correspond-. ng reduction in the birth rale. "11 look n war to bring Fleming's basic discovery of penicillin to a practical frui tion," Dr. Bjorkstcn said. "Must we wail for an atomic holocaust to wipe out a large portion of humanity before we can have a concerted drive for the major extension of healthful life by control of aging?" One man who has made i survey of Iho subject, Dr Robert Do liopp, a British biochemist and researcher for the Rockefeller institute, said he found scarcely one major scientific institute in the United Stales solely concern ed with the problem of aging. Little Intorest in Age There was excellent scat tered research in the United States and in Europe, Dr. Dc Ropp paid, but its total was ludicrously small in view of Ihe social importance of the problem. Compared lo the bil lions being spent on the moon race, he said, the total de voted to research into aging would scarcely buy one medium-sized rocket. What this would mean in actual years added to life expectancy (now about 70 years in the Unilcd flutes) is debatable. There have been estimates lliHl a cure or suc cessful treatment for cancer and heart disease would add nine years. If man could learn to cool himself down at night instead of working his body machine at full gear while asleep, lo keep his tempera- other 20 years of life The above figures mu?t be read against the fact that sci entists are not quite sure what the "normal" life span is. De Ropp says it is doubtful if any man has ever lived out a full span since this would require perfect conditions all the way. The lungs, intestines, kidneys and brain could prob ably live for 150 years if they had an adequate blood supply. Heart Gives Out But the heart and arteries do not appear to be strong enough to keep pumping that long. Dr. Louis Dublin, a life insurance company statistici an, holds: "By some inexorable law, still to be discovered and clarified, nature has allowed man a life span of about 100 years. But very few lives complete this span." Bray thinks the chief bene fit of gerontological research might not; be more years but healthier and more active years. Despite the skimpincss of money and facilities, scien tists in the field are opti mistic. For one thing life expectan cy has been creeping steadily upwards, largely, it is true, because death no longer ends so many young lives but also because of better management of some of the diseases of the elderly. At the time of the American revolution life ex pectancy fur the colonists was 35 years - just half of what it is today. Can Prolong Life For another, scientists work ng with rates and insects have proved they can prolong life and preserve youth and in some rare cases even bring about rejuvenation. Some in sects were actually made younger by treatment with a juvenile hormone." There is possibly an objr -l lesson for humans in the rats used in the experiments at Cornell university. Those which were well fed lived their usual life span. Those which were given a near- starvation diet lived longer. At University college in Lon don fruit flics had their lives prolonged by control led changes in temperature. Of the many theories of aging Bray is at present most impressed with Bjorkslcn's contention that it is due to a chain of events started by a cross-linkage in the cells of the body of large vital molecules, such as protein and nucleic acid molecules, so as to tie them together. Describes Cell Tie "The effect is like what would happen in a large fac tory with thousands of work ers if someone slipped a pair of handcuffs on one hand of two workers to tie them to gether," Dr. Bjorkstcn says. "This obviously would re duce their ability to do their work. And if the process were allowed to spread through the factory, even at a slow rate, it would ultimately paralyze the whole operation unless means were found to remove the handcuffs faster than they were being applied. The inter mediate products which ac cumulate in the body when more food is taken in than can be ultilizcd immediately are known cross -linking which, if his theory is cor rect, steadily decreases the desistance of the cell to dam age or infection as the years go by. One reason for the hostility against gerontological re- Span search," said Bray, "is the mental block most people have which makes it difficult for them to dissociate old age and senilily. 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