Is your original cell still alive?

I’m in the process of watching a (Great Courses) video course titled “Understanding DNA, Genes and their Real-World Applications,” taught by Professor David Sadava. In today’s lecture (#5) he asked whether one’s original cell still exists in each adult. Each of us came from one cell, a fertilized egg, which divided, then divided again, on and on.  Sadava’s  question was whether our original cells might still be alive somewhere in our adult human bodies, decades later. His answer was that there is no compelling reason to assume that that original cell is not still “somewhere” inside of you, one cell among the 60 trillion cells that make up your body.

Intriguing thought.

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Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his two daughters.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Avatar of Tige Gibson
    Tige Gibson February 22, 2012 Reply

    If a cell divides in two, which one is the original? It is nonsensical.

    1. Avatar of Brad
      Brad June 4, 2012

      I believe they meant the first generation of cells before differentiation occurs. 1 cell (Type 1) becomes 2 cells (Type 1) then 1 cell(Type 1) becomes dormant while 1 cell(Type 1) differentiates into 2 cells(Type 2). The dormant cell being the original.

      I don’t know if that is completely accurate but I think it illustrates the point.

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