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Surely you know what DNA is... and a chromosome is a tightly coiled DNA strand in the nucleus of every single cell in your body. A telomere occurs where the DNA is folded over like the twisty wire, the ones everyone uses to tie bread bags. It looks like a cap on the end of the fold. The nucleotide sequence in all animal cells is "TTAGGG" and it repeats over and over again at the end of all chromosomes in your body. To understand how this relates to aging you have to know what the Hayflick Limit is. In a laboratory, human cells have been found to divide only about 50 times before dying. This occurs in your body when more and more cells reach their Hayflick limits and all your systems start to shut down. This is known as aging. The Hayflick Limit, is directly related to telomeres. Everytime a cell in your body divides, it loses a little bit of its telomeres, right up until there is none left, known as Hayflick's Limit. The DNA actually comes apart in the cell and the cell undergoes senescence, or celluar suicide. When too many cells start reaching their Hayflick limits, your old. Now if you get your hands on a steady supply of telomerase, this enzyme will rebuild the telomeres in your body. As long as you have a continuous supply, you will live a lot longer. No one has really seen this, but human cells in a laboratory will divide well past their Hayflick Limit's. Giant Sea turtles naturally express telomerase, and no one has ever recorded one's whole life span. This is because none of the ones born in captivity have ever died of natural causes. It is theorized they live around 1000 years, however more telomerase would likely extend their lifespans.
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∙ 15y ago
Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with each cell division. When telomeres become too short, cells can no longer divide, leading to ageing-related processes. However, the enzyme telomerase can add back lost telomere sequences, extending cell lifespan. In cancer, where cells divide uncontrollably, telomerase is often reactivated, allowing cancer cells to maintain their telomeres and continue dividing indefinitely.
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How may the degradation of telomeres result in cellular aging?
The degradation of telomeres, which are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, results in cellular aging because each time a cell divides, a small portion of the telomere is lost. As telomeres shorten, it eventually reaches a critical length that triggers cell senescence or programmed cell death. This leads to a reduction in the cell's ability to divide and function properly, contributing to the overall aging of tissues and organs.
What is the name of special DNA sequences located at the ends of chromosomes whose erosion contributes to cellular aging and death?
Telomeres are the special DNA sequences located at the ends of chromosomes that protect them from deterioration and contribute to aging and cell death when they become too short. Telomeres gradually shorten with each cell division, eventually reaching a critical length that triggers cellular senescence or death.
What is the aging?
Aging is the most common form of degenerative disease. It infects everyone and is 100% fatal. Although long looked at as a natural process, there has been significant progress in combating it's effects. It is thought to be caused by a decrease in the length of telomeres in the process of cell replication.
What are the Signs of aging at the cellular level?
Signs of aging at the cellular level include shortening of telomeres (protective caps on the end of chromosomes), accumulation of damage in DNA leading to mutations, decline in mitochondrial function, and increased production of free radicals causing oxidative stress. These cellular changes contribute to aging-related diseases and decline in cell function over time.
Can drugs reverse the ageing process?
There is currently no drug that has been proven to reverse the aging process. While some medications may help alleviate age-related symptoms or conditions, aging itself is a complex process involving multiple factors, and no drug has been shown to fully reverse or stop it. Research in this area is ongoing.
What are both aging and cancer caused by?
telomerase
What is the link between telomeres and aging?
Telomeres shorten with each cellular replication; telomere length is inversely proportional to age. While telomere extension does tend to make cells "young again", telomere extension is problematic for a treatment for age because many kinds of cancer replicate indefinitely due in part to the fact they have overactive telomerase, a protein that extends the telomeres. Until the link between cancer and telomeres is understood, telomere extension therapy will not be feasible.
Why was elizabeth blackburn awarded the nobel prize in 2009?
Elizabeth Blackburn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for her discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Her research shed light on the role of telomeres in cellular aging and cancer development.
Replication of telomers and its segnificance in aging?
Maintaining telomere length has been associates with aging. The enzyme telomerase adds nucleotides to the ends of telomeres thereby maintaining their length. This enzyme is able to function only until a certain limit, called the Heyflick limit (named after the person who first reported this phenomenon). When the heyflick limit is reached, telomeres cannot be enzymatically lengthened and are programmed for death
How is aging related to mitosis?
Mitosis is a form of cell division. Cancer is a mutation in cell division, generally in such a way that cell divide too often and are unregulated and end up developing a mass. Those cells also carry the mutation and those cells divide and create new mutated cells, on and on and on.
Is the structure of telomerase solved till now?
Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for discovering how chromosomes protect themselves as cells divide, work that has inspired experimental cancer therapies and may offer insights into aging in short the telomerase activity.
When will be first experiment on humans to stop all genes of aging?
It is difficult to predict when the first experiment on humans to stop all genes of aging will take place, as such a development would need thorough testing and ethical considerations. Research is ongoing in the field of aging and genetics, but more time and studies are needed before reaching a point where interventions on all aging genes would be feasible in humans.
What is the protective cap of DNA on the tip of chromosomes?
The telomere is the protective cap of DNA on the tip of chromosomes. You lose a small amount of these telomeres each time the cell divides. Eventually the telomeres be lost as you age. Short chromosomes because of lack telomeres are one reason aging occurs.
How may the degradation of telomeres result in cellular aging?
The degradation of telomeres, which are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, results in cellular aging because each time a cell divides, a small portion of the telomere is lost. As telomeres shorten, it eventually reaches a critical length that triggers cell senescence or programmed cell death. This leads to a reduction in the cell's ability to divide and function properly, contributing to the overall aging of tissues and organs.
How does the end replication problem and telomerase affect aging in humans?
Telomerase ends become shorter as humans age. This happens in part because of the process known as the end replication problem, whereby strands of DNA become uneven over time.
Reasons for falling hair?
Aging, stress, cancer.
What is the aging?
Aging is the most common form of degenerative disease. It infects everyone and is 100% fatal. Although long looked at as a natural process, there has been significant progress in combating it's effects. It is thought to be caused by a decrease in the length of telomeres in the process of cell replication.
