Re:Sunyata
by kaddar on Thursday March 11, 2010 @12:56PM
(#1184376)
Your cells are new every 10 years. [Citation Needed]
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... with the notable exception of (most) of your neurons. The only exception happens in the hippocampus which is involved in long term memory.
(As a side note, a reduced turnover of these neurons is associated with depression, but I don't know what's the cause and what's the consequence.)
Some cells have a much higher turnover(almost daily). I think of the immune system and of some epithelial cells (especially in the digestive tract).
Your ten years figure seems to be a reasonable median, but I don't have any data to back it up either.
The exact number is a little controversial, but there's pretty universal agreement that most of your cells wear out, die, and are replaced within your life time. I didn't elaborate, because though it's useful for illustration, my point doesn't really depend on it - even if we had the same cells throughout our lives, we could swap them out one by one and still be us.