Telomeres

          He had never been to the White House before. He hadn’t voted for the incumbent President, in fact he hadn’t voted at all. His research over the past few years had consumed him and his time away from the lab was only for what was required by the body, sleep and food. He marveled at the fact that he was so calm, even though he was about to meet the President of the United States. He wasn’t nervous at all. Perhaps the reality of the situation was beyond his grasp. Indeed the whole week had been so unreal. It had started with a mysterious visitor.

          “Dr. Clarke?” the man had said in a deep voice of authority. The man, wearing a dark suit which contrasted with everyone else’s white lab coats and jeans, was standing over him. The question was more of a statement to get his attention. Indeed the man seemed to know all about him.

          “Yes, I’m David Clarke. Who are you and who let you into the lab?” He said looking up from his microscope.

          “I am Dr. Potkin. I need to speak to you about your research. Is there somewhere we can speak in private?” The visitor replied.

          Dr. Clarke was obviously annoyed at the interruption and was about to tell the man to come back later.

          “We need to speak about your research and its implications. The President has been advised by several government agencies to sponsor a bill that would stop your research. I would like to talk to you about preventing that kind of interference.” Dr. Potkin said without any emotion.

          “Stop my research? This research could be the greatest breakthrough in modern medicine. Who wants to interfere? What do they know about my research? What the hell are you talking about?” Dr. Clarke was on his feet now. His face was beginning to flush and his hands were beginning to shake as his anger rose.

          “I believe we should talk in private, Dr. Clarke. I am on your side.” The stranger pointed to an office in the corner. “Is that your office?” He said and began walking in that direction without waiting for an answer.

          Dr. Clarke’s anger began to subside as curiosity took over, and his mind began spinning a dozen different questions. He followed the stranger to his office.

          The stranger took a seat and waited patiently for Dr. Clarke to sit down, after he closed the door, moved a stack of papers off his desk and another stack out of his chair.

          When Dr. Clarke emerged from his office with Dr. Putkin, Clarke had a strange zombie like look in his eyes. He thanked his guest for coming and assured him he would be ready. Then he called Gene, his head research assistant, over and went into the office with her, where he again closed his door.

          As Dr. Clarke entered the oval office with Dr. Putkin he was more surprised by his own casual attitude than the elegant surroundings. “Here I am in the holy of holies of our culture, and it feels like just another departmental meeting. I must be in shock.” He thought, “Or perhaps it’s just that the business at hand is more important than these surroundings. After all, I’m not here as a tourist.” Dr. Clarke’s introspection abruptly stopped as the introductions began

Colin Peters, Secretary of State, John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury, Andy Cardwell, Chief of Staff, Robert Miller, Director of the FBI, and the Vice President, Dick Cornwall all stood and shook hands with Dr. Clarke. As soon as the introductions were made the President entered the room.

“Thank you for coming Dr. Clarke. Dr. Putkin has been advising some of us on the continuing research in your field, but perhaps you could begin by explaining your research to all us here today. We are of course delighted in your accomplishments in anti-cancer treatment, but we are more specifically concerned with the anti-aging implications of your discoveries.” The President graciously stated.

“Yes, sir, Dr. Putkin has spoken to me about your concerns. Our research efforts were targeted at finding a way to treat and prevent cancer. You understand that cancer is the result of a few of the bodies natural cells beginning to grow without the normal controls. These cells grow at a wild uncontrolled rate, and they continue to grow forming a mass of tissue that begins to interfere with the body’s normal function. For instance, a brain tumor that begins growing in the confined space of the skull will put pressure on the surrounding normal parts of the brain as it increases in size. The pressure can pinch off the blood supply to parts of the brain causing those areas to die. If enough brain tissue is starved for blood then of course the person will die or if vital areas of the brain quit functioning then the result is of course death. This is a very simple explanation, you understand.” Dr. Clarke said, looking at Dr. Putkin and the President.

“One of the bodies control mechanisms is called telomeres.” Dr. Clarke continued. “Telomeres are the ends of the DNA strands. You can think of DNA as a list of ingredients in a recipe. Imagine a long strip of paper with the list of ingredients written, single file across the strip of paper. Now imagine that every time the recipe is used a small piece of the paper, at the end, is lost. It’s obvious that after just a few uses the recipe would become useless. Our DNA is like that strip of paper, and the strategy the body uses is to list several items at the end of the list that mean nothing. It’s as if a cookie recipe listed, flour, water, sugar, walnuts, raisins, salt, nod, nod, nod, nod. Now of course nodding your head really has nothing to do with baking the cookies, so if you lost the last ‘nod’ after you used the recipe once, the recipe would still work the second time you used it. The same would be true after the second, third and fourth time you used the recipe, remember that each time you use the recipe the last ingredient on the list is lost, snipped off. The fifth time you use the recipe the list would read, flour, water, sugar, walnuts, raisins, salt. The nod portion of the recipe would no longer be on the list. The cookies would again turn out fine, but the sixth time the list was used the salt would be left out of the recipe. The cookies would still be cookies, but they would not taste the same. Each time that the list is used to make cookies the cookies would diminish in quality, until finally, enough vital ingredients are left out that the recipe doesn’t work any more. This is what causes ageing in our bodies. Each time our DNA is replicated to form new replacement cells for the cells that have worn out, an ingredient is left out. The telomeres are the useless ingredients that don’t contribute anything to the recipe, like the nod at the end of our cookie recipe. Eventually we run out of telomeres and begin loosing the vital portions of our DNA. The skin cells become less elastic, more wrinkled, sagging, discolored, in other words they become aged. The same is true of all our body’s cells.”

“So, Doctor, you are saying that as we get older our DNA becomes shorter, and it is this shortening of our DNA that causes ageing?” asked Mr. Snow, Treasury secretary.

“Exactly, Mr. Snow,” Dr. Clarke replied.

“But what has this to do with cancer?” asked the Secretary of State.

“We knew that cancer cells are able to live indefinitely. Cancer cells continue to grow and grow because there is no loss of their telomeres. Cancer cells stimulate a substance called telomerase. This enzyme, telomerase, actually repairs the ends of the DNA, it’s like periodically adding ten new ‘nods’ to our recipe list. The telomerase protects the vital portion of the DNA and prevents the cancer cells from ageing and dieing. The goal of our research was to discover how cancer cells managed to turn this repair mechanism on and off. We knew if we could discover how this worked, we could ‘turn off’ cancer cells before they could ever cause problems in the human body. In effect, we could cure cancer.” Dr. Clarke paused to let his audience digest this information.

“Dr. Clarke has succeeded in his research goals, gentlemen,” Said Dr. Putkin. “He has discovered how to turn off telomerase, and just as importantly, how to turn it on.”

“And this discovery will not only cure cancer, but enable us to stop the ageing process. Is that correct Dr. Clarke?” The President asked.

“Yes, sir, that is correct. It will not reverse the ageing process, but it will stop it.” Replied Dr. Clarke.

“And how long could a person expect to live, if he were treated with your telomerase stimulator, Dr. Clarke?” The President wanted to know.

“That would be pure speculation on my part, Mr. President. There may be other limiting factors in a person’s life span. There are certainly other causes of death besides old age.” Dr. Clarke was hedging the question, it was not an effective strategy in dealing with professional politicians.

“Dr. Putkin, perhaps you can answer the question for us.” The President stated, turning to the older doctor.

“Well sir, there has been some speculation on the subject in the scientific community, although there has obviously never been any true research done, since no one has ever stopped ageing before. The estimates range from conservatively 200 years to a possible 500 years. I personally think 200-300 is a reasonable range.” Dr. Putkin answered, “but as Dr. Clarke has stated it is pure speculation.”

“And if a person lived 300 years, he just might live long enough to see the cure for heart disease, stroke and any other cause of death that might have ended his life. So it is possible for a person to live forever. Is that what you are telling us?” Mr. Card, the Chief of Staff asked accusingly.

There it was, the unavoidable question that made his whole discovery sound like quackery. Immortality, the fountain of youth, was this, what he was claiming? “Mr. Card, we simply don’t know what kind of limitations to life might exist beyond 150 years of age. The oldest person on record was 122 when she died. Certain parts of the body do wear out. The teeth have no natural repair mechanism and would certainly be worn down to mere stubs after 150 years. There are hormonal changes that proceed through out our life time and these may place limits on our longevity as well. No one is claiming to hold the elixir of life and the promise of immortality. All that I am saying is that we now understand the cause of ageing and within the year I believe we can develop a treatment to stop ageing entirely.”

“Do you realize how many people die each day? One hundred thousand people die each day, world wide, ten million a year in the U.S. alone. In a few years we would have more people on social security and retirement benefits than we could ever afford. Hell, in ten years we would have more people on retirement than working. It would be a disaster! It would ruin the country.” The Secretary of Treasury exploded.

“Sir, we are not talking about extending old age. We are talking about stopping the ageing process entirely. People would no longer age at all. They would stay young and healthy. There would be no reason to retire or quit work due to disability from old age. They could continue to work and be productive.” Dr. Clarke said. He was beginning to get defensive, after all this was his life’s work these people were evaluating, his greatest achievement. Couldn’t they see the value of it?

“If, you only give it to the young, Doctor. I believe you said it would not reverse the effects of old age.” Secretary of State, Colin Powell stated.

“That’s true, in order to receive the greatest benefits from the treatment it would have to be administered while the person is still relatively young,” Stated Dr. Clarke.

“And what age would you recommend, Dr. Clarke?” Asked the Vice President.

“I don’t know, perhaps in the thirties.” As soon as the words left his mouth he realized the mistake he had made.

“So you would condemn anyone over forty to death, death of old age. How old are you doctor?” the Vice President asked. “I’m fifty-four.”

“I’m 37 years old, Mr. Cheney. I am simply trying to say that the older population would not be retired. They would not be a burden on society.” Replied Dr. Clarke.

“I think Mr. Cheney has made a valid point. Who will decide who gets the treatment and who doesn’t? We don’t have the right to deny it to someone simply because they were born in the wrong year. On the other hand we wouldn’t want an Al Capone crime boss, or Saddam Hussein tyrant to live forever either,” Interjected Mr. Mueller, the FBI Director.

“Perhaps it could be offered beginning on a certain date to people born on or after that time? Doctor, could it be administered to newborns?” Mr. Snow asked.

“It is too early to tell, but I would advise waiting until all growth has been completed, perhaps age 21 and over.” Dr. Clarke replied.

“Maybe it could be offered in a lottery, then.” Mr. Snow added.

“Do we really want to offer it to everyone? Perhaps we would be wiser controlling who gets this telomerase. We might want to offer it only to outstanding citizens for their accomplishments, like a Nobel Prize. By giving it only to those who have distinguished themselves in some manner, we would avoid having 200 year old street people.” Mr. Mueller said.

“It could be tightly regulated so that only a small amount would be produced each year. The market for such a product would be incredible and by limiting the supply it would be very expensive. Only the very wealthy, the most successful portion of our society could afford it.” The Secretary of the Treasury contributed.

“Oh my god, the people would have a fit. There would be demonstrations and riots like we haven’t seen since Viet Nam,” Stated Vice President, Cheney. “It would be seen as just another example of big government catering to the rich and oppressing the poor.”

“I agree, there is no way we can allow the market to control this, it’s too big. If it is only available to the rich or the elite, the people of this country will feel betrayed by their government, and riots even possible revolutions will ensue.” Mr. Powell observed.

“Dr. Putkin, you said that 200-300 years was, in your opinion a reasonable life expectancy with the aid of this telomerase. That is a long time. Do you think that it is possible that during that time the life expectancy might be further increased?” Asked the President.

“It is certainly possible, Mr. President. The rate of progress in the health field is increasing, and we have already made tremendous strides. I think the greatest achievements are still ahead in the fields of protein research and nanotechnology.” Dr. Putkin replied.

“Would you say that given our current rate of progress, that a person born within the next ten years could possibly live indefinitely?” The President asked, leaning forward, his glancing between Dr. Putkin and Dr. Clarke.

“It is a possibility.” Dr. Putkin said.

“Indeed it is the end point of the research, isn’t it? Isn’t that the ultimate goal of the research being done by Dr. Clarke, the conquest of death?” The President asked.

The question made Dr. Clarke strangely uncomfortable. He had indeed thought about it before, many times. It had never seemed fair that life was so short. It seemed as though there was never enough time. His own work pace was very hectic. He had sacrificed a marriage to devote more time to his research. He had lost touch with his father, and never taken the fishing trip they had promised one another so many times. His father died before he could return home to see him one last time. So many things were left unsaid between them. His mother had completely lost touch with reality, because of Alzheimer’s. Old age had taken its toll on her, both body and mind were only shadows of a woman that was once vibrant and full of life. Time was the enemy. Although the benefits of anti-aging would appear to be a side benefit, a serendipitous discovery, it had always been in the back of his mind. No, aging and death were not fair. The conquest of death should be man’s highest priority. But these thoughts were not popular in the scientific circles. And no one would fund research into longevity studies. Scientist that talked about immortality and anti-aging were branded as crackpots, they received no respect and certainly no funding. He had chosen anti-cancer research specifically with the goal of learning why cancer cells didn’t die. And now he was here discussing the fate of his research with the most powerful men in the world.

His hands began to shake, and the calmness that had accompanied him into this room was slowly leaving him. He folded his hands in his lap, casually, to hide the slight shaking. “The conquest of death is a noble goal, but what we’ve done is far from that. We have found a way to extend life and to enrich it.” He said trying to diffuse the President’s line of thought.

“But isn’t this the first step towards conquering death?” The President asked. “And what if man achieves that goal, and people live forever? What happens to our society? What happens to religion and faith? After all, who needs god if you live forever?” The President paused. “Our nation is built on religious principles. Religion gives us our morals, and our codes of conduct. Religion gives us a sense of purpose in life. It gives us hope. What will happen when that becomes obsolete because modern science can give us immortality in a pill?”

“One of the bonds of our society is our common faith in Christianity,” The President continued. “Science has already cast doubts on traditional religious beliefs with the theory of evolution, and the creation of life in a test tube. Now you are setting the stage for science to provide life everlasting. But it is no heaven that you are building. The resulting population explosion will quickly exhaust the Earth’s resources and the basic necessities of life will become scarce. Nations will go to war to assure adequate food and raw materials for their own populations. And if America tries to maintain a monopoly on this telomerase treatment, reserving it only for Americans, then other nations will go to any length to obtain the secrets for their own use.”

“No, it is too great a leap.” The President concluded. “Our society, our people are not ready for such a gift. Perhaps if you could limit the effects to only extending a healthy age to 70 or 80 years, then perhaps it would be manageable. Then ‘New Discoveries’ could be announced over the next century to slowly extend the life expectancy. This would give our society time to adjust and to adapt to a gradually lengthened life expectancy. Could you do that, Doctor? Is that possible?”

“Our research indicates that it is more of an on/off switch than a rheostat, Mr. President. Each activation of telomerase doubles or triples the life expectancy of the subject. You cannot simply dial in the desired number of years. And the proper human trials to study the telomerase effects on human subjects could take centuries to complete.” Dr. Clarke replied.

“I was under the impression that your work was ready for release on Humans now.” The Vice President stated.

It all clicked with that one statement. The government had been hacking into his computer at the lab. His database and his notes, everything had probably been read, copied and studied. He had never spoken to anyone outside the lab of human trials and he had certainly never published anything indicating that they were in fact ready. His first suspicions were confirmed.

“How did you know that my telomerase treatment was ready for human testing? I haven’t released that information.” Dr. Clarke asked.

“Doctor Clarke,” Mr. Mueller explained, “Science often has a tendency to run wild. Someone must keep watch over it. Reign it in, control it in a manageable way to prevent the inadvertent chaos that we have been discussing here today. The unpleasant side effects and consequences of scientific study are often overlooked by the scientists themselves. Scientists tend to be too focused on the discovery itself to see the big picture.”

“Doctor Clarke, you are an intelligent man. Surely you can see the concerns that we have about your research findings being released prematurely.  Don’t you agree that more study should be done on the possible effects of your discoveries before the research is released?” Mr. Card, Chief of Staff, commented.

“You’re talking about burying my research. Do you really expect me to quit what I am doing? Do you expect me to give up the most important discovery in science?” Dr. Clarke asked.

“We are not going to ask you to give up your work, Dr. Clarke.” Vice President Cheney said. “We only want you to move your research to a government lab, where it can be done in a secure environment.”

“And if I refuse?” Dr. Clarke asked, he was fighting desperately to keep his hands from trembling and revealing his inner rage.

“I am afraid you have no choice. You can agree to conduct your research at a secure government facility in cooperation with our experts or your research will be cancelled in the interests of national security.” Mr. Mueller said.

“You people have no right to decide the fate of the discoveries that I have worked so hard on. The knowledge of telomerase and its effects on life are too important to be decided by a handful of men. The knowledge belongs to everyone.” Dr. Clarke’s voice was steady and controlled, though his hands were now in fists.

“Your work has already been classified as vital to the security of the United States. You have now been informed and any attempt to reveal that information could result in your arrest and trial for treason.” Mr. Powell, advised.

“By the end of this meeting FBI agents will have removed all computers, records and files from your office and lab. Dr. Clarke your lab assistants will be sworn to secrecy and your lab at the university closed. This is in the best interest of the country.” Mr. Mueller said in his flat official FBI voice.

“Dr. Clarke, no one wants this to be unpleasant. We should all work together for the good of the country.” Mr. Powell added.

“Dr. Clarke, I am sure that this is a shock to you. You should take some time to consider what is best for yourself and your research.” The President said in a fatherly voice. “You can continue your work. Funding will not be a problem. The facilities will be excellent, better than the university lab, in fact.”

“I suppose I’ll have a team of government researchers to assist me, monitor my results, oversee my work, perhaps even make suggestions as to the direction my research should take. No, I won’t be controlled like that.” Dr. Clarke said. He could feel his anger at the thought of being a government puppet. And then all his anger slid away, it flowed out of his mind down through his body, like a liquid that emptied right out the bottom of his soles. Confidence replaced it, and he was as calm again as he was when he had entered this den of conspirators. “You’re too late. By now the information has already been distributed to universities and other researchers around the world.” He looked around the room and actually enjoyed the sudden silence.

Eight hundred miles away, in a small cyber café, Gene and three other lab assistants sipped on lattes and cappuccinos as the last of the discs downloaded their data to be instantly zipped to a computer on the other side of the world.