subscribe to our feed.The twentieth century saw our life expectancies go from 46.3 to 79.9 years of age. Many people underestimate the benefits of medicine in the past one hundred years. But there is no doubt that modern medicine has increased our life spans. Medicine can also increase the quality of that life span. New research has uncovered a very interesting connection between structures called telomeres and life span.
…
I have heard it said that the body replaces itself every 7-8 years. That’s because our cells are constantly being damaged. Part of that replacement cycle is driven by genetic processes. And in that genetic replacement is where an interesting secret arises. Telomeres are additional information on DNA chains. They have been compared to the blank leaders on video and audio tapes. They protect the vital DNA information from being damaged in the replication process. That’s because with each replication, the telomeres get shorter. And that has been tied to length of life.
But there is a way to stop or reverse the shortening of telomeres. Telomerase is a catalytic protein that impedes or stops the shortening of telomeres. The strange thing is that telomerase is found only in cancerous tumors. That gives the cancer an immortal character. So there seems to be some tie between cancer, aging, and telomeres. Scientists are looking at ways to stop cancerous tumors from using telomerase, thus shortening their life.
Most scientists are postulating that activating telomerase in healthy cells would result in life spans in the 150-180 year range. Interestingly, many people who are interviewed do not want that long of a life span. This is heavily tied to an individual’s learning pursuits. If someone is a life long learner, they usually want the added time to explore. Those who aren’t life long learners don’t see the point in extending life. I found that pretty interesting.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
how the hell do we activate our telmorease?
[…] Paul brings us PaulTech. As he notes, that’s really original! That name might not be original, but the content is. One of the most highly trafficked posts recently has been one on Telomeres. It has something to do with a modern day fountain of youth. Keep it up Paul. […]