Our Eternal Cells

In one my blogs a few months ago I discussed the fluid body and the vital role our inner ocean (aka - our cellular environment ) plays in our health and wellbeing.

To expand on this subject I would like to share with you the fascinating and inspiring story of Alexis Carrel - a French physiologist whose pioneering work in maintaining cell life outside of its host organism served as a precursor for organ transplants.

Experimenting with live chicken cells in the late 19th century, Carrell placed chicken cells in a Petri dish and observed that the metabolic waste shed by the individual cells depleted the oxygen thus suffocating the cells in their own toxic waste. Carrel determined that the change in the hydro culture medium of a healthy pH alkaline-acid balance to one of higher acidity had produced an environment totally unsupportive of cell life.

By adding a filtration system which kept fluids circulating and providing oxygen and movement he repeated his earlier experiment of placing individual cardiac cells (extracted from the embryo of a chicken) in a Petri dish with a pH saline hydro-culture medium. These cell, having survived over a period of 11 years (more than twice the normal life span of a chicken ) caught the attention of the medical community.

For his findings, in 1923 Alexis Carrell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. However, he did not dispose of his experimental cells. In fact, twenty three years later, In his brilliant 1935 book “Man, The Unknown” Carrell referred to his thriving chicken cells as his “Immortal cells.”

Carrell’s empirical conclusion was simple and straightforward:

Life is dependent upon the environment in which it abides.

Each one of our trillions of cells rely on the environment it resides. One of the keys to a happy, healthy life is a healthy cellular environment. In my next blog I will explore some easy to do steps we can take to nurture, strengthen and protect our inner and outer environment.

Best,

Anne