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Children Help Their Mothers for Decades 285

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the stem-cells-au-naturale dept.
Itninja writes "NPR reported this morning on some interesting findings regarding mothers and their children. From the article: 'Some scientists have proposed that when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or a daughter, but a gift of cells that stays behind and protects her for the rest of her life. That's because a baby's cells linger in its mom's body for decades and -- like stem cells -- may help to repair damage when she gets sick. It's such an enticing idea that even the scientists who came up with the idea worry that it may be too beautiful to be true.'"
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Children Help Their Mothers for Decades More

Children Help Their Mothers for Decades

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  • Someone's been reading DNA (Score:5, Funny)

    by HTH NE1 ( 675604 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:07PM (#14671023)
    It's such an enticing idea that even the scientists who came up with the idea worry that it may be too beautiful to be true.

    A qualified poet once testified under oath that beauty was truth, truth beauty, and hoped thereby to prove that the guilty party in the case was Life itself for failing to be either beautiful or true. The judges concurred, and in a moving speech held that Life itself was in contempt of court, and duly confiscated it from all those there present before going off to enjoy a pleasant evening's ultragolf.

    Yes, there is the "Good Hypothesis": that the cells stay in the mom and try to protect her for the rest of her life.

    And yes, there is the "Bad Hypothesis": that the cells gather at inflammation sites and contribute to mom's autoimmune diseases.

    But there is also a third hypothesis:

    That both of the first two hypothesis were concocted by by a wily editor of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy in order to increase the level of universal uncertainty and paranoia and so boost sales of the Guide?

  • Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase (Score:5, Funny)

    by ettlz ( 639203 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:08PM (#14671035) Journal
    "Service Pack".

  • Re (Score:5, Funny)

    by Alex P Keaton in da ( 882660 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:09PM (#14671050) Homepage
    So My mom has a fetus cache? Or did I leave a cookie?

  • I wonder (Score:5, Interesting)

    by netfool ( 623800 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:10PM (#14671055) Homepage
    I wonder if this has anything to do with women living on average, seven years longer than men?

    • Re:I wonder (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Firehed ( 942385 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:18PM (#14671150) Homepage
      Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless. How many women do you know go cliffjumping or start street racing just because of the type of car that pulled up next to her at the stop light?

      • Re:I wonder (Score:5, Funny)

        by thatguywhoiam ( 524290 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:22PM (#14671197)
        Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless.

        nice, your typo contradicted your point :)

        • Re:I wonder (Score:5, Interesting)

          by Empty Yo ( 828138 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @02:59PM (#14672113)
          Statistically speaking, if you remove deaths due to work accidents, vehicle accidents and war from the death statistics, then men live with a half a year of women. Those three factors combined pretty much account for the seven year difference.
      • No, I'm sure men get in plenty of wrecks.
      • The woman doesn't start street racing at the light because she's too busy putting on makeup while driving! I don't think males have cornered the market on dangerous activities...
      • How many women do you know go cliffjumping or start street racing just because of the type of car that pulled up next to her at the stop light?

        Just get yourself a Corvette. You would be suprised by the number of soccer moms in minvans see you pull up next to them and decide "I can take him" and try to street race you.

        Joking aside, it is more likely a matter of hazardous *jobs* than risky hobbies. Ho wmany women work(ed) in the mines, served on the front, hunted for the family food, etc.?
        • Add to that the stress of having more hazardous jobs, and knowing that in the end, men will have to fend for themselves, while women know that unless they are truly hidious, there is someone out there that would take care of them.

          I still think that stress is our biggest kill. Take a look a picture of someone that was 35 in 1920. They were old at 35. Now take a look at what people look like at 35 today. They range from old to incredibly hot. Funny thing, the harder a persons life was, usually the old

      • Re:I wonder (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Drakai ( 828042 )
        Actually, I disagree here. Men do more dangerous things because we are more capable of doing more dangerous things successfully. This isn't just bravado. There is a certain amount of risk assessment to every action a person takes. And depending on how active a person is dictates their self awareness as well as how capable they are of performing a given feat. A given act may be considered objectively dangerous but every act danger level is subjective to the person performing the act.

        Men seem to do more dange

      • Re:I wonder (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Vellmont ( 569020 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:43PM (#14671430) Homepage

        Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often.

        If that were true you'd see a big gender difference at the young ages that men are doing reckless things. That isn't true, and the gender disparity only shows up much later in life. I'm not sure why the difference exists, but I've heard that women get heart disease much less often than men because of the protective effects of estrogen.

        • Re:I wonder (Score:4, Funny)

          by hackstraw ( 262471 ) * on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @04:37PM (#14672928)
          That isn't true, and the gender disparity only shows up much later in life. I'm not sure why the difference exists

          Some men develop testicles later in life which produces testosterone -- the male hormone.

          Evidence of the contrary is here [slashdot.org].

      • I think the current statistics have a much simplier reason than that. Currently, people in their 70-80s were young at a time when there were more social taboos, especially surrounding women.

        For example, I recall reading (a year or two ago) that if you remove preventable deaths (ie: from smoking) then on average men live 6 months longer than women.

        Another factor surrounding this generation is that men fought in WWII, and some vets do show decreased quality of life for it.

        I think in 30 years, the statistics
      • Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often.
        Yeah, the streets round here are full of 80 year old ricers !.

        The OP said "on average, 7 years longer, not 57 years longer.

        Insightful ... hah!

      • Re:I wonder (Score:4, Interesting)

        by BewireNomali ( 618969 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @02:01PM (#14671596)
        Women have higher resting serum levels of growth hormone than men until menopause when they fall. That's where the seven extra years plus come from.

        women get extra time because they reproduce. males are overproduced, so we can afford to waste a few doing stupid shit, like you mentioned.

      • Re:I wonder (Score:2, Insightful)

        by G.E. Leyh ( 952943 )
        That could explain why men are about 4x more likely to be killed by lightning strikes than women:
        http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/severe_weather/light04. pdf [noaa.gov]

      • Re:I wonder (Score:3, Interesting)

        by radtea ( 464814 )
        Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often.

        Yeah, like doing all the dangerous jobs. Although the stereotypical testosterone-driven behaviour you cite can't be completely discounted, it is not nearly as important as differences in employment choices, which account for a significant part of the difference in male/female lifespan in the developed world. The most dangerous professions--farmer, faller*, miner, etc--are all male-dominated, and men dominate in wo

      • Re:I wonder (Score:3, Interesting)

        by hackstraw ( 262471 ) *
        Nope, I'm pretty sure that's more due to the fact that they don't do stupid things as often. Let's be honest here, men are pretty wreckless. How many women do you know go cliffjumping or start street racing just because of the type of car that pulled up next to her at the stop light?

        That is called risk taking. It used to be a valued human male characteristic before being a pussy became the norm.

        Risk taking does things like put men on the moon, explore new territory when others believe the world is flat, ri
    • Indoor cats live longer.
    • Actually males have a higher mortality rate even in the womb. There are 1.05 males born for every female, but by the time we get to be around 30, the ratio starts becoming much more even and of course in the over 65 group females outnumber males by a significant margin.
    • But it's ironic because women have always had much shorter life expectancies because of childbirth.

      I wonder just how in the heck fetal cells can remain in a mother's body that long. Do they move into the bone marrow and set up shop?
    • I wonder if this has anything to do with women living on average, seven years longer than men?
      No, that's because we give them our precious bodily fluids, as often as we can.

  • Double Edged Sword (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ed__ ( 23481 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:11PM (#14671064) Journal
    The left over cells are also thought to play a role in auto-immune diseases that can occur after pregnancy, (iirc).

  • That's nothing. (Score:5, Funny)

    by ScentCone ( 795499 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:11PM (#14671065)
    My personal collection of cells can actually mow my Mom's entire lawn.

  • The bugina (Score:5, Funny)

    by bermudatriangleoflov ( 951747 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:11PM (#14671070)
    The miracles of the vagina never cease to amaze me....9 months trying to get out and the rest of your life trying to get back in.

  • Doesn't seem to help with depression... (Score:3, Informative)

    by RobinH ( 124750 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:13PM (#14671095) Homepage
    Some scientists have proposed that when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or a daughter, but a gift of cells that stays behind and protects her for the rest of her life.

    That's great. I guess it doesn't help with the depression [yahoo.com] though.
    • Well, so getting married and staying married brings increased wealth [livescience.com] (hey, I know that as a single guy, I no doubt spend a greater percentage of my income than if I were married). If you also have kids, you WILL get added immune protection as a mother even though there CAN be additional depression (the depression is stastically greater, although not absolutely greater). I know that my mom, after having 8 kids (I'm the oldest), has an incredible immune system and rarely if ever gets the flu/cold/etc. when

  • So in essence... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:14PM (#14671098)
    Babies are the new brocolli! Eat more babies!

  • Fathers, meanwhile (Score:5, Funny)

    by muertos ( 570792 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <57yelsaebj>> on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:14PM (#14671102) Journal
    Experience negative health benefits from children.

    I know mine drive me crazy.

  • I guess it makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)

    by arkham6 ( 24514 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:15PM (#14671110)
    From a evolution and survival of the species standpoint, it makes sense. Since the offspring is so dependant on the mother for food for many years after birth, the species needs to ensure that the mother lives to provide.
    • "Since the offspring is so dependant on the mother for food for many years after birth, the species needs to ensure that the mother lives to provide"

      Not only that, but the mother surviving means that she will be more likely to produce more children, thus further perpetuating her genes. This is why (IMO) in some cultures, women who have already borne a child are considered better marriage prospects.
    • I think the evolutionary benefit of having your mom live a long time is that she will get higher up in the social hierarchy the longer she lives.

      In most societies, the elders are the decision makers, by a process of simple seniority. the longer a woman lives, the more chance she has to arrange society to benefit her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

    • From a evolution and survival of the species standpoint, it makes sense.

      Not really. If this was only positive and had no downsides, we'd have evolved to have this clump of cells without having to give birth. The fact that we don't all have this leads me to believe that either a) there is a significant downside to having this clump of cells (e.g. decreased fertility), or b) that it isn't as wonderful as the initial findings indicate.

    • Since the offspring is so dependant on the mother for food for many years after birth, the species needs to ensure that the mother lives to provide.

      Species, schmecies. From an evolutionary point of view, I don't give a damn whether your children survive - indeed, I might be happier if they don't, less competition for my own kids!

      If this is true, then I'd say it's because it's in the baby's interests. Look: You're about to be born. You are likely to be partially or totally dependent on your mother for ma

  • Some of the cells (Score:5, Funny)

    by RealProgrammer ( 723725 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:15PM (#14671114) Homepage Journal
    are 30 years old and still living in the basement.

  • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Nothing like pure science to counteract my mom's claims that I gave her quite a few grey hair with my childhood tantrums.

    I bet my "gift of cells" more than made up for all that.

  • I read something related to this in a neurobiology article back in October. See this link [sciam.com].

    For the lazy, some scientists in Singapore and Asia activated a flourescent green protein in rat males and bred them with normal rat females. After giving birth, the mother rats had neuronal cells with the protein expressed in their brains, making it clear that those cells formerly belonged to their fetuses. And check out this quote:

    "Moreover, after the scientists chemically injured the mouse brains, nearly six times as many fetal cells made their way to damaged areas than elsewhere, suggesting the cells could be responding to molecular distress signals released by the brain."

    Seems like it makes for a pretty damn good argument for this theory to me.

  • In related news... (Score:3, Funny)

    by DaHat ( 247651 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:17PM (#14671138)
    ... the rate of pregnancy in woman in their 40-70's has skyrocketed!

  • Your mom (Score:4, Funny)

    by szembek ( 948327 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:17PM (#14671139) Homepage
    I've got some cells that are lingering inside your mom too.

    • Re:Your mom (Score:3, Funny)

      by smoker2 ( 750216 )
      Daddy ?

      Is that you ?

    • Re:Your mom (Score:4, Funny)

      by Hogwash McFly ( 678207 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @02:32PM (#14671852)
      Your post and one of the replies reminds me of a joke.

      A young man is enjoying a few drinks in the pub with some friends when a fat, balding man staggers up to the table and says quite loudly to the young guy, 'I've fucked your mum!' The young lad feels a little embarrassed but he and his friends just ignore the drunkard and he stumbles off. Five minutes later the lush is back, this time exclaiming 'I've sucked your mum's tits! Your mum sucked my cock!' through beery breath. Having had enough, the young guy gets up and says sternly, 'Dad, you're drunk. Go home!'.
  • Women get many autoimmune disorders more frequently than men. E.g. Lupus. Pregnancy contributes because of leftover fetal cells. (Plenty [sciencenews.org] of [ucp.org] documentation [sclero.org] for [nasw.org] this [womenshealthresearch.org].)

    (Indeed, the fetus often gets cells from the mother, too. Many women have cells of their own, and from their mothers, and from their children...)

  • A gift of cells that stays behind and protects her (Score:3, Funny)

    by AndroidCat ( 229562 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:20PM (#14671172) Homepage
    So it's okay if I skip a card and chocolates on her birthday now and then, right?
  • I'll be sure to remind her of all the beneficial fetus cells she gets out of the deal.

  • Really, that is absolutely the worst bit of science journalism I have ever read in my entire life. No other science writing comes even close to the awful level of writing there. Just of the names of the hypotheses "Good" and "Bad" are unbelievably egregious.

    "that the cells stay in the mom and try to protect her for the rest of her life"

    is one of the worst anthropomorphisms I have read.

    "if the Good Hypothesis turns out to be true and every child leaves a posse of good soldiers in their mothers".

    That m

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:24PM (#14671224)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Jaffa, kree! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Del Vach ( 449393 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:24PM (#14671227)
    Just like a Ga'ould symbiot! Second only in healing powers to Richard Dean Anderson himself.
  • i just saw

    a guy is fingered for a rape/ murder, so they check his dna against the crime scene dna and find out that he doesn't match 100%, but 50%, implying his brother did the crime

    so csi seeks out all of the guy's brothers, including a crazy homeless schizophrenic one, but none of them match the dna 100% either

    until the lead csi guy figures out what is really going on: the guy is a chimera [wikipedia.org]

    a chimera is a very very rare person where two eggs/ embryos fuse very early in embryonic development, such that only one person results, but one person where different organ systems in the body are from different genetic makeups, in essence, two brothers becoming one man

    for example, the person's brain and bone marrow might be of person a, but the skin and eggs/ testicles might be of person b

    so it is possible, for example, to have a child that is genetically your nephew/ niece, if only your brother's testicles are left of him and you are a chimera

    the point is, the body is very well able to be made of different genetic lineages, without all of the usual immunological tissue rejection issues and such

  • Dance with me, Mom! (Score:5, Funny)

    by layer3switch ( 783864 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:27PM (#14671260)
    "Dance with me, mom! Dance the dance of life!" ...fumble, trip, crash...

    So is this mean, I can finally talk back to my mom with same tone?

    mom: ...sigh... the things I did for you, giving you birth through excruciating labour for hours...
    son: ...sigh... the things I did for you, leaving my fetal cell behind to help you heal...

    ps: Mom, I love you. I'm just kidding.
  • Women usually live longer than men, would this help explain why? I always thought it might have more to do with roles in society, men doing "harder" more dangerous work (although I for one can attest that being a mother, and raising children is certainly not "easy") causing men to die earlier in life, but this study might show that if all other things being equal, women might have a leg up... if they had borne children?

  • Guilt Trip deflector (Score:5, Funny)

    by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:40PM (#14671396)
    Thanks. Now when my mom asks me what I've done for her, I can deflect the guilt trip.
  • Women who have borne children are more susceptible than men to immune diseases like lups, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, graves diseaes, cronic fatigue, etc. Could it be the residual cells of their offspring put their immune systems into overdrive?
  • The hormones released during pregnancy also accelerate the growth of certain cancers. For instace, a year and a half after I was born my mother found a lump in one of her breasts but put it off for another 12 years. That was when it took her life because by then it had metastisized to the lungs, liver and brain.

    Had she not gotten pregnant she probably would have lived several years beyond that.

    So pregnancy does exact a toll. But the majority of people are fortunate.

  • This is great news! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Hrodvitnir ( 101283 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @01:54PM (#14671532)
    Now when my mom and I get into an argument and she uses the line "Hey! I brought you into this world!" I can counter with:

    I gave you super healing!
  • Ok...so mothers get to live longer because of the left over cells. What about the years shaved off by dealing with youngins?
    Child birth: +10 years
    Raising a child: -7 years
    Genetic design working out in your benefit: Priceless.
  • What's so beautiful about the idea that females send unknowing new people into this cruel world, just so the mothers can leech off the stemcells? They keep the byproduct of the stemcell production around, first to help with chores, then to pose for exploitative pictures, and later to drive them to the senior club.

  • Bridge? (Score:4, Funny)

    by XMilkProject ( 935232 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @02:05PM (#14671642) Homepage
    The therapist always told me I wasn't responsible for my mothers death, but now I have scientific evidence.

    My cells should have been there for her.

    If only Google Maps could find me the nearest bridge.

    Good Bye Cruel World!
  • My Psychiatrist said I needed to talk to my inner child, so I went and bought my mom a cellular phone.
  • First we have Boomer mommies that are scheduling C-sections because just waiting around for Junior to pop out just doesn't fit into their busy schedule.

    Now we have evidence that suggests that if that DINK woman decides to pop out a pup she may live a little longer?

    Not to say that people are so self-interested they'd have a baby just for their own medical advantages, but hey, at least that adoption waiting list for white infants might start growing shorter.

    Please, I hope nobody suggests that this will keep w

  • I misread the comment (Score:3, Funny)

    by CrazyJim1 ( 809850 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @03:40PM (#14672480) Journal
    "Some scientists have proposed that when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or a daughter, but a gift of cells that stays behind and protects her for the rest of her life"

    I thought it refered to the kid as the gift of cells that protects the mother.

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