Chemistry is always contributing to different areas of science. Based on the article below, explain whether you would want to take part in a human version of this experiment or if you this is an area "we" should stay out of as scientists. In other words, is it ethical for us to try to achieve eternal life?
15pts for your in depth answers w/ reasoning.
HAS THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH BEEN DISCOVERED?
The fountain of youth has long been a common trope of pop culture. Over the years, literature, film and eventourist attractions have all been built on the foundation that taking a sip from the fountain will provide rejuvenation if not eternal life.
For all the fiction and false promise the fountain has given us, new research has shown the reservoir of youth might be less fantastical than we think.
It all has to do with Buckminsterfullerene, a molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms, bonded together in the shape of a geodesic sphere. The substance has potential medical applications in the treatment of cancer and HIV, and even in the creation of body armor.
But could Buckminsterfullerene -- also known as buckyballs -- be used make us live longer? Some new research out of the Université Paris-Sud suggests so.
In a clinical trial, three groups of rats were fed different substances. The first was given a control, the second was fed olive oil and the third was fed a combination of olive oil and Buckminsterfullerene. The control group had a lifespan of only 22 months while the strictly olive oil group lived an average of 26 months.
However, researchers got quite a surprise with the olive oil/buckeyball group. Rats that ingested that mixture lived an astounding 42 months.
No research has been done on humans yet, but as the crow's feet start to carve their way into the corners of my eyes, a man can dream can't he?
The researchers published their findings in the April 10 edition of Biomaterials. According to thier findings, Buckminsterfullerene works by reducing the oxidative stress that causes aging.
"These results of importance in the fields of medicine and toxicology should open the way for the many possible applications of fullerene, including cancer therapy, neurodegenerative disorders and ageing," the article explains.
Whatever cup you use to drink from the fountain of youth, above all, make sure you choose wisely.
After reading this article im not sure if i would ingest the substance. It would be great to live longer,but if you are still going to be wrinkleily and old looking then i dont think i would want to keep looking older then i already was. Especially if i had a disease like cancer then why would i want to keep living. In my opinion i wouldnt want a science substance to make me live longer then what was already determined for me.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is ethical for us to try to achieve eternal life for many reasons.
ReplyDelete•If we were meant to live forever, then we would.
•I personally would hate to ingest the substance and live forever, while being forced to watch as others who did not choose to ingest the substance(family, friends, loved ones) pass away.
•If there were to be some kind of natural disaster or another world war were to happen, I would not want to be around while this was happening.
•Like Tristyn, it would be horrible if I decided to live forever, then contracted some kind of disease which I would now have to live with forever.
•What if there were a zombie apocalypse? I would not want to live forever during that whether I was alive or a zombie!
I would not want to take this substance. First of all, you would have a horrible time when your old because for most people, they need help. They either do not have the right state of mind or are physically unable to take care of themselves. Also, if your in so much pain you would not want to keep living. Last, I want to go home to my Father in Heaven. Man should not try to live forever because you can live forever with God in heaven. This is why I would not want to take this substance.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I would not take this substance, unless I was to die at a very young age. I would not like to outlive others for so long, losing everyone that I truly cared about. Although it may seem logical for people to live forever, it is not for me. I would not want to be forced to live in a life of misery and end my life PURPOSELY because of my bad choices. People were meant to lose their lives at some moment in time, and living "forever" would defy that law. Overall, I would not take this substance unless I was to lose my life within my teenage years.
ReplyDeleteI would not want to take this substance for many reasons. We have all dreamt of immortality, but when it is presented to us, it is no longer appealing. That is because most of us like fiction more than fact. It is much more frightening when it is actually possible. This new drug that allows people to live longer would destroy humanity. Overpopulation will occur. Think about it: the old die so that the young can live. If the old and the young were living together, there would be a scarcity of food, water, and shelter. Living linger would also not help memory. Think about how forgetful old people are. That's because their brains have used up all of their storage space. And come on, would you really want to old and forgetful? Living for too long would also be boring. So, the possibiliy of this substance making us live for a long time is frightening.
ReplyDeleteI would want to live longer, but i would not want to take part in this substance. It's too dangerous for everyone involved. I don't think it's a good idea. So i would not want to take part in this substance.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to live a life with no one you care about and being alone for the rest of your life is not a worthwhile life. I wouldn't want to live forever because I believe that everyone has to die sometime. Its gods will for us to die and I choose his path willingly. A drug that can make you live longer doesn't guarantee that the extended life you receive will be plentiful in food, money, or friends. It just means you can spend more time on earth. So as I was saying before god has a plan for all of us and I wouldn't want to live forever, i would want to join my deceased family in heaven. This scientific era is definitely one "we" should stay out of also because of over population. This planet gets smaller and smaller with more humans being born. If we were to live forever there would be no room for all of us. What would we do then? Kill people off? And if that who dies? This drug would be more trouble then its worth so we should not use it.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in immorality and would not want the help of a drug to extend my lifespan. I would rather live longer naturally than cheating by ingesting this substance. Also, I'd probably want to die around the age of 80, when I am old and sick all the time. I think life would get boring when I'm old, so extending my lifespan would be misery and I wouldn't have the guts to kill myself. If this drug works, the world would be over populated and there would be inefficient sources.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is our place to try and take part in eternal life. If it was meant for anything to have eternal life GOd would have made it that way. People are put on this earth to live a life and die so more can be born into the world. Eternal life can bring a terrible amount of people to the population and our economy could get even worse. Dying and birth is a part of life that's just the way it goes.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would NOT take part in this experiment. What the individuals above said is true: Humans are not meant to live forever. If I were the only one that ingested the substance, I would be alone. While all the money and food and clothing in the world would be mine, there is no one to communicate with or be around. I would be so depressed all by myself. Often times, I hear many old people say "I've lived my life. I'll be dead soon." Death is natural, and though it frightens the young, once we get older it will seem like a normal part of life.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I want to live a long lifetime I doubt that I want to stay alive long enough to see my own children die as well as my friends. I would not partake in this experiment because I think it is unnatural no matter what benefits it can bring people. I would not partake in this because yes I would be able to live my life to the fullest, but once I do that I would have nothing. I would alone survive while my family and friends perish. Since they would all die I would become depressed or extremely unhappy and later I would regret my decision for immortality. Also if I had come in contact with some disease I wouldn't slowly die, but instead I would suffer for eternity. Furthermore I wouldn't partake in this experiment based on my own references. Also thinking about immortality economically it could be damaging to the world. If everyone would not die, the earth would become infested with garbage and the population would sky rocket. It would be too crowded to harbor everyone and so people would have to soon look for life in space or on other planets. And as cool as that may sound we may not have the same utilities we need like on earth. In conclusion I would not try this new "fountain of youth" substance for these reasons.
ReplyDeleteI personally would not wish to partake in this experiment. Even though I would want to live a long time, I do not wish to live forever. I agree with what most of my other peers said above me is true: Humans are not meant to live forever. I am one of those people that whole-heartedly believe in the advancement of science and health, but no one should be able to live forever. They would truly be forever alone. In closing I would like to reiterate my stance; I would not participate in such a scientific experiment.
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ReplyDeleteDon't you think that was a bit much to be putting on a blog post? Darling, if I were you I wouldn't be expressing how much I don't want to live on here. That's something that should be dealt with personally and not put out there on the blog for everyone to see. Just remember, i'm here if you need to talk.
DeleteHappy now? I rewrote it.
DeleteTo be able to live forever is simply not human-like. There's a time to live, which everyone does, but there is also a time to die. To use science in order to expand one's life expectancy interfers with many religious, social, and ethical aspects of one's life. Who is science to determine one's future? There comes a point in time when one's life is coming to an end. To use Buckminsterfullerene to help increase someone's life expectancy is extremely unnatural. There's only so much humans are capable of, and there should not be some sort of an advancement to help decrease the aging process. Plus, I don't think I would trust something known as "Buckyballs" to help better my life. That's just a tad bit too weird for me.
ReplyDeleteI believe the old ideals of not too much nor too little. I'd want to live at least up to my upper sixties. I get the feeling that living after 80 would sort of start sounding like a pain. This possible little fountain of youth substance sounds like a nice gesture but I'd have to say no thanks. Maybe just a little of it, but it'd depend on what sort of mood I'm in that day. Maybe on a midlife crisis, heh. Maybe I constantly stare down my mortality on a daily basis so I'm not too scared-- except for heights, oh the heights.
ReplyDeleteI would like to live forever. It sounds bad and yes after a long time all of my friends and family and loved ones would die... but I could do so much more with a longer life. You could learn more. And in turn you could help more people. If an amazing inventor or anyone that is a great person lives longer then they will get to do more great things for a longer period of time.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article I was amazed. To think that there is a possible substance that could prolong a humans life is mind blowing. However, this new substance, Buckminsterfullerene, is something that I am not interested in. I'm sure that most people would like to live a long and healthy life, but at a certain point in time people get too old to live. A reasonable life for me would be in the mid 70's to low 80's. I wouldn't want to live forever, life would get too boring and mondane.
ReplyDeletePersonally, it would depend on how Lon the pill extends your life becaus sim pretty sure in he article it never stated immortality just longer life. Life was already shortened to us because of all the pollution and toxins. So if man kind found a way to give us back the years we lost then yeah I would take the pill. As Lon as the life that was extended to me was resonable maybe like 5-10ish years.
ReplyDelete"The fountain of youth has long been a common trope of pop culture. Over the years, literature, film and eventourist attractions have all been built on the foundation that taking a sip from the fountain will provide rejuvenation if not eternal life."
DeleteI think living for eternity is a way of runn from the fear of death. I'm not cheating death I don't want to live forever. I'm sick of all the drama that people cause. (Heck take my life now) Pun intended. It is pretty impressive that a scientist has come up with something like that. Seriously though if I lived for that long I wouldn't kno what to do. There has to be an end to everyones life. So I don't want my life extended.
ReplyDeleteI don't think people should live beyond what they are supposed to. People are supposed to die, and then be replaced by new generations. That's the way life is supposed to be. If not like this, then we would overpopulate. The world would be an overcrowded mess. Also, it would get pretty boring after a while.
ReplyDeleteWith technology today we are already increasing the number of days humans can live, Whats a little more? I find that this discovery is great and it could save lives. I'm all into saving lives. If the medicine made us live forever it would be a different story.Even though it would be a little crazy i would love to take a buckyball.
ReplyDeleteI would not take part in the experiment because, as others have said, we are all meant to die at some point. Living forever could be a curse, one of which can't be reversed. For example, loved ones would die and one would have to deal with their absence, which could lead to depression, well if you were the only one to ingest the substance. Death is a normal part of life and should be left alone.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it is okay to alter our natural deaths by swallowing any chemical. I believe it is God's plan for us to die at some point, and so we shouldn't try to change this. And even with that aside, wouldn't it feel weird to be alive after the time that you probably should be dead? I feel like you would be able to somehow feel it, feel that you should instead be dead. And then you would live a guilty, unhappy life. That wouldn't be fun. I don't know. And what would you do all of the time? Wouldn't you get bored after a while? Although I don't believe in the use of Bckminsterfullerene as a life-lengthener, I do think that it could be useful as a cure for cancer or degenerative diseases, as the article suggests. To answer your question regarding how long I want to live, I guess I wouldn't mind living to be in my mid 90's. Any longer than that would just be uncomfortable probably, as a natural, non-chemically tampered human, that is.
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ReplyDeleteSeeing as my original blog post wasn't good enough for some people...I am going to rewrite it.
ReplyDeleteNot in the sense that I want to die right now, or kill myself....but really...
Seeing how much life IS left...50-80 years...the desire to live forever is NONE!
Watching loved ones move on, live through more war and fighting....
It just isn't worth it...it isn't even desirable.
Not to mention completely UNETHICAL.
I don't know how long I want to live. I think that this chemical may be good for consumption. It would help your body fight disease so you wouldn't be sick all the time. It would also keep you doing more work during your lifespan. I understand the whole overpopulation thing as well. That's why I think it would be selfish to consume it. I don't find it unethical or unnatural because most people secretly wish for it to exist ( maybe not to take it, but at least for existence). Also, going the religious route, if the technology exists for humans to come up with it, then the higher power can't hate it THAT much because IT, the higher power, obviously had a purpose for creating it one way or another. The article never said eternal life, so I might be up to taking it if my family was too...or maybe just me because I want to die last, so that the people that love me, don't have to miss me so much. I'd take all of their loneliness away and I would hope that the majority of people are correctly assuming there is an afterlife in which we all may partake in.
ReplyDeleteWho would want to live forever? There is a quote that I read somewhere that said " The beauty of mortality is that you never know when your time is up." If people were to live forever, it would take the fun out of life. I would rather die younger and happier than live until I'm 150 years old and be confined to a hospital bed for decades. I think people who take this would be too focused on the idea of living longer to enjoy family and friends. I believe that in taking this chemical, while it may increase your lifespan, it will also deter you from actually living.
ReplyDeleteI would Not like to take part of this experiment if I had the choice. Life has a beginning and an end: birth and death. What's the point of trying to live longer? Imagine what you would look like! You'd probably also face health problems. Not everyone might participate in this experiment. What if your family and closest friends decide not to? You'd be left by yourself. Yes, some people might think this is a great idea, but they don't see the reality of it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to take part in this experiment. As for eternal life, I wouldn't mind it. Living to see what the world can become and what kind of technology would be invented in the future would be pretty cool. The substance only delays your age. You could still simply die from a car crash, natural disaster, or anything so it won't be "eternal life."
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's ethical to dapple in such chemistry/biology work as figuring out how to live forever. Finding a cure for cancer and HIV/AIDS is one thing, that would be used to improve life and keep people from suffering unnecessarily physically or emotionally. If a way to live forever were found, it would be mass chaos! First of all, in the beginning, only rich people would probably be the only ones o pay to live forever. This would mot likely cause massive underground activity, if there is a way to get a hold on that substance and sell it on the black market, it is going to happen. Secondly, we would have mass overpopulation. Just because people are going to live forever does not mean they are going to stop reproducing, because it is human nature. So unless people turn to chastity, overpopulation and all the issues that go along with it (overcrowding, famine, lack of resources, etc.) are going to be an issue. Lastly, having this is just going to take away the quality of life. We live because we know we might not see tomorrow. This in turn causes us to make good choices and be the best we can be. If we are given the choice of living forever, that might take away from the drive to do good. It feeds in to the human nature of procrastination. The world could go up in complete anarchy from this philosophy. Also, things in life will not be as enjoyable because living forever would allow you to do such things over and over and over again. It was Achilis in Troy who said "The Gods envy us because we are mortal, which makes everything that much more precious". To try and live forever is unethical.
ReplyDeleteI don't think causing humans to live for longer is a good thing to pursue. I everyone was to live long the planet would become over populated. We were not meant to live really a long time. Our life spans have been increasing as time goes on anyway and a lot of people are pushing 100 years any way and that is a long time to live.
ReplyDeleteIt is not ethical for scientist to even consider something along the lines of eternal life. To die is essential for the survival of others. Our world is seriously overpopulated and contrary to popular belief, one day our food sources will run out. The earth already can not sustain those living on it properly , now if those individuals were to live an extended period of time longer then those few resources would be completely abused and depleted.
ReplyDeletePeople are incredibly selfish. We should feel thankful for the time we have and leave it there. However, I do believe this molecule used for the purposes of curing or pacifying ailments such as HIV is a good idea. To ethically cure and treat those who are currently sick is fine, but to try and create a way for yourself to live forever is egotistical and without valid reason.
The idea of "eternal life" seems like a great idea when you first hear it. You could travel the world, go sky diving, try different jobs, try to achieve wealth, or even reinvent yourself. When I think about living eternally, there are good things and bad things. Yeah, you could do all the things I first metioned, but wouldn't you get bored? Wouldn't you get tired of hearing everyone's problems? Watching the world go to crap while you are stuck living forever? I wouldn't want to live forever and I think it's something that science should stay away from. It's scary to think that science has come so far as to achieve something that keeps you going FOREVER. Can that really be healthy? Injesting something that makes you live eternally? Everyone has their time to go, so why mess with it?
ReplyDeletePeople live and die. That's the way things happen, so i don't thing scientist should go looking for eternal life. If humans were meant to be eternal we would of have been able to. As long as human stay out of crazy experiments they can't get hurt but when they get crazy they tell people other crazy ideas like eternal life.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not believe that humans were ever assigned a specific time of death, and so extending the life span seems like a great idea in concept. In early times, the average life span was 35 years. With the growth of modern medicine, the current life expectancy is around 80 years old. I believe that it is natural for humans to discover ways to improve the lives, longevity included.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is no doubt that down sides will follow with this advancement in technology. It is not unusual in this day and age for medical treatment to be unattainable due to its expensive nature. In a world in which basic flu vaccines are not administered universally, such an advancement in longevity seems unfair to expose to the "general public." I predict that any release of a drug to grant eternal life would only be targeted and financially available to the upper class. For example, those diagnosed with AIDS anticipate a premature death, unless they are fortunate enough to afford the numerous medication concoctions to elongate their life. The same can be said of cancer and other illnesses, in which only the wealthy can afford to treat or subside. The most discomforting thought is that those with wealth typically have immense power, and so certain individuals may wrongfully take advantage of living eternally.
And so, I conclude that the idea of eternal life is excellent to seek after, though at the current state of our world, such an advancement would be ill-suited.
I agree with Kayla, if we were meant to live forever, we would have the natural ability to go do. The possibility of curing cancer is amazing, but this drug is going to be really expensive. Will it be open to every class, no, only the upper middle class. Im not sure if Skipped over this part, but only research being conducted on rats and no research on humans is really dangerous. I'm fine with my life-span, i'd rather have a shorter life, than having a possibility of a real "I am Legend" moment.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it would be unethical to tamper with our lifespans. While reading the article I was slightly disturbed by the thought of being able to lice forever. I feel that the buckeyballs could be used to cure disease and that would be good but I don't tgink it is a very good idea to play god perse.
ReplyDeleteI believe that everyone is meant to live and die. They should not try to come up with something to make us live longer. I don't think it will be a good idea because what if someone has a sickness and they react to with the new science experiment. Also the testing they do on animals with the product will not be the same on a human all the time. The idea about eternal life sounds great but once we get old we won't be able to handle ourselves. Its not going to be the same.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe this is a great achievement; however, if I was given the chance to try it, it would depend on the circumstances. Living longer could have many benefits. You have more time to spend with your loved ones, especially grandchildren or even great-grand children. It could also give you more time to complete all your life goals and dreams. This substance can potentially cure cancer and reverse the aging process and neurodegenerative disorders, which would be beneficial to humans suffering from these diseases.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are reasons why I would not ingest it. The substance could have an adverse effect on the human body and could potentially, ironically, kill the person taking it. Also, since living longer could mean outliving your loved ones, the fear of losing them or being alone should be an important aspect to ponder. Also, this substance is, more than likely, expensive and could not be afforded by third world countries, etc. This is unfair to those who cannot afford the treatment. Though I am not religious, some humans are and do not believe in tampering with lifespans and the concept of eternal life.
Of course the option of ingesting the substance is a personal choice and the beliefs of other should not affect it.
I would not take part of the experiment because we are all meant to die at some point. There would be no point of living life if it never came to an end. Life would be boring if people experienced everything. There would be nothing to look forward to. Also, the world would become overpopulated. If god wanted people to live forever than we would be. It is not our place as humans to try and change that.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is ethical to do this experiment. It is the circle of life that people live and then eventually die. I myself would never want to live longer than naturally possible. Every life has to come to an end eventually or else we would all be a bunch of bitter old people trying to survive off of social security but not being able to because there isn't enough to go around for all the people living beyond their years. Also, experimenting on those poor animals is really wrong because they could be in serious pain. This type of experimentation should not be funded by even a few thousand dollars, the money should go to actual disease curing experiments that give people a chance at a normal life span.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is wrong in all aspects of it. People are born and people die it does not matter whether or not a person lives for 100 years or 75 years or even if they could live forever. No one would actually want to do that. There has got to be some sort of side effects, naturally as a person gets older they are in more and more pain and their bones and other body parts have to work much harder I do not believe that this would be a good idea for people. I personally do not want to live forever or even longer than I was ment to live. In theory it is a good idea but in reality its not, overpopulation being a big problem.
ReplyDeleteIt is not ethnical for us to try to achieve eternal life. In my opinion this whole idea in reality will affect us negatively. Everyone thinks this would be such a good idea. People think it would be great to give everyone the chance to live a long life. If you really think about it this world will become way over populated. Also we are meant to die at some point in time. Dyeing is a part of life that everyone should experience.
ReplyDeleteIf I were given the substance to make me live longer, I would not take it. There is the positive effects of the substance, for example of living longer than others and stay young longer than usual. But there are also a lot of negative things that come with the substance. Like, seeing others you love die, and if your living with a disease that is not cureable. I would not want to live longer than others.
ReplyDeleteI would be a part of this experiment. A longer life would give untold opportunities. A longer time to love, to learn and to live. It's one of every person's fantasies, to be able to live longer. With a longer life, I could accoplish so much more before I go. I would love to be a part of one of the greatest discoveries in science. And because of the lives it would extend and save makes it ethical. Science has done many unethical things, but saving life doesn't seem so wrong to me.
ReplyDeleteIf i was given an opportunity to participate in this experiment, I would turn it down in a heartbeat. Living forever would be so lonely. Your whole family would pass away and you would have to live through it and try to cope with it. Based on my beliefs, if we were meant to live forever then God would of made it so. It just seems wrong on multiple levels.
ReplyDeleteI think scientists should conduct the experiments. My reasons being that it could possibly help cure many diseases ailing the human population like aids and cancer. If they do try to go for eternal life then who's to say whether they're right or wrong. It's not like anyone is going to be forced to life forever.
ReplyDeleteI like to take risks, so I think that I would drink from the "fountain of youth". I wouldn't go into it blindly though. there should be lot of tests done on willing humans before the public tries to do this. No one can live forever but I wouldn't mind living an extra year or 2. There are risks to everything in life, so why not try something that could help? YOLO!
ReplyDeleteBy this article showing me that to live longer is more risky more than live and die in the old age. I mean who doesn't want to live longer. However, if that bring the person a happiness life then it's good for them, because who want live longer but watching the people that related to you and die. While you alive and they are death, it's hard to do that. So, that are the negative about this experiment. However, the positive about this experiment would be, it can give the person more time to cure their disease or the sickness they have in their body system. The reason for that is because there are many disease need to took time to cure it down and they want a person to live more longer so the doctor can have more time to defeated the disease on that patient. These are what I think about this experiment in this article.
ReplyDeleteI am not really sure if I would take this substance or not. I would most definitely not do it first, but after studies were performed I might. If it was proven that a few years could be added on to life, and the subjects that participated had no side effects or anything, I would probably take the pill. It would be cool to have a few years added on to life and watch your family grow up and just to be alive. Many people think it is not ethical, but I don't think there is anything wrong with it.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not believe that it is ethical for us to attempt to achieve eternal life. You are supposed to go when it is your time, not try to live forever. I wouldn't like to live forever because I would be out living all my loved ones, so there would be no point. Also, when people get old, more often than not, they are placed in a nursing home type of place because they aren't capable of doing everything on their own. I wouldn't want be sick and have to depend on people to take care of me for the rest of my life. The idea of living forever may seem great and like you could do everything you've always wanted to do, but when it comes to actually ingesting the substance, I would refrain from taking it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the fact that the substance may be a treatment/cure for cancer is amazing. If I had cancer and was seriously ill from it, then maybe I would take it, but odds are I wouldn't. There are also are side effects and at an older age it becomes harder to get well again, and the recovery process is extremely slow.
And so, in conclusion, I personally would definitely not take this particular substance. I feel as if this achievement in science is too advanced right now for our society/ world.
Scientist should not persue the dream of a longer life. This is because resourses in the world are going to run lower, there is going to be more pollution, and the main one is that normally the olde you get the weaker you become. With that in mind do you imagine how weak we are going to be if we are 150 years old.?In my opinion I prefer to die earlier than having a miserable longer life.
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