Danielle Mason
New York Times- Severe Diet Doesn't Prolong Life (8/27/12)
8/31/12 6:11pm
In the article I read, scientists fed a group of monkeys a
significantly reduced diet compared to the control group that was fed a regular
healthy diet. Scientists were trying to prove that by living a healthier
lifestyle throughout life into your mid seventies you would prolong your life
expectancy by 6 years for males or 5 years for females. Scientists thought if
the monkeys’ life was extended by the reduced diet, then so would humans since
we are their descendants. The results of this study were wrong of course,
monkeys fed a reduced diet and monkeys fed a normal diet lived about the same
amount of years. Similar studies were done on mice and the results were
about the same except for 1/3 of the mice actually lived shorter lives. People
quickly dismissed this saying, “There is something wrong with mice”. Basically
different studies on different species showed very similar results except for a
few varying outcomes.
My feelings on this topic are mixed. I feel like it's a great
advancement for science to be able to do experiments to extend the human life
and better health. On the other hand I feel like it isn't natural for human
life to be pushed beyond its natural limits. I know this advancement would be
great to help people in other countries with lower life expectancy to extend
their lives and reach their full potential, but if it isn't in god’s will for
us to live past a certain age then I don't think it should be tampered with. Especially
if the results vary slightly through different species, what if when used on
humans it causes us to die sooner? I think advancement is wonderful, just not
when it messes with the human nature.
Is this an international story? I cannot tell from the summary. You also did not put a link to the article. Remember to be looking for articles that are international in scope, or at least, if US-centric, can be applied globally. Your summary is good, but your analysis is lacking. Be objective. Discuss why this is a global problem/issue. Be objective.
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