Human Red Cell Instability and Senescence 231 



states the obvious in different words. Nevertheless it has the 

 advantage of directing attention to that part of the cell which 

 is most vulnerable to the effects of physical dissolution, 

 namely the part which conveys its specification and which 

 alone cannot be repaired if damaged. Furthermore, it would 

 suggest that even the non-nucleated mammalian red cell 

 possesses all the information necessary to preserve its identity 

 during its life-span. This suggestion is in accord with the 

 observed ability of the cell to repair itself after damage during 

 cold storage, and by the constancy of its composition in its 

 normal environment. 



Finally, there is an analogy which illustrates the relevance 

 of this particular physical approach to the general problem of 

 ageing. In the practice of information theory, which is called 

 communications engineering, there is a device for rejuvenating 

 messages which would otherwise have become unintelligible 

 during their transmission over a great distance. This "ageing " 

 of messages can be overcome if the same message is received 

 simultaneously over several different, but closely adjacent, 

 paths and then combined. The probability of losing the same 

 items of information along each of the paths is small, and so 

 the combination is usually a faithful replica of the original. 

 There seems to be more than a casual resemblance between 

 this device and the natural process of conjugation. 



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