> [Imagine the instincto-supercop, who, after receiving 2 bullets in each leg,
> runs 2 miles and catches the criminal :-)]

I've often thought about this when I've watched ER trauma shows on
television.  I think someone's vitality and energy level would make a
great difference in how their body would handle a bullet (I don't want
to be a guinea pig!)

Speaking of injuries I have been able to consciously make my brain
trigger endorphin release to ease the pain when I've hurt myself.  Last
year I damaged the tendon(s) in my finger (I'm not too good with
physiology) by trying to swing out over a creek on a rope, which my
children did with ease of course.  Well, I didn't take into
consideration that your hands get weaker as you get older and that one
finger caught the brunt of my body weight.  It hurt for a long time, but
has almost gotten completely better with the things I have been doing
dietarily, etc.  I'm kind of using it as a gauge as to how well I'm
doing.  My joints don't snap loudly as I go down the stairs anymore.

Jean-Louis--thanks for the comments about the telomere stuff.  I was
wondering how the discovery would impact us in the long run.  Mary J.