The Roles Of Telomeres And Chronic Disease

Most telomere are no more that the simple repetition of the DNA nucleotide sequence TTAGGG — two thymine bases, an adenine base, and three guanine bases. With a full length telomere containing more that 15,000 base pairs, telomeres can perform their functions of preventing chromosome from losing coding regions of the genome during replication for many replications before reaching what Dr. Jerry Shay describes as their “critical length” (Shay & Wright). When the telomeres of a cell reach this critical length and can no longer replicate without damaging the base pair sequences of the chromosomes themselves, programmed cell death occurs in the form of apoptosis. However, the length of a chromosome’s telomere is not only a linear function of erosion, but also a function of how often telomerase rebuilds the strands by adding the TTAGGG base pair sequence. It is this way to “cheat” the critical point that provides medicine with the possibility to extend our

The length of the telomere indicates age-related diseases, unhealthy lifestyle, and longevity in the lifespan.

Telomerase is able to add DNA nucleotides to the ends of telomeres (the end of DNA sequences). After replication, a small amount of the telomeres are cut off. When the telomeres are cut too many times, the cell has met its Hayflick limit. It is believed that when an individuals cells have divided too many times, that they die.

procreate”. It’s a known medical fact that as we get older our cells fail to replicate and damage

Scientist have seen that telomerase expressing clones have no difference in karyotype but have a long lifespan by 20 doublings. With this research, cells have been seen to have a very youthful looking state for much longer. A last area of study is the hypothalamus of the brain. This part of the brain controls reproduction, growth, metabolism, and aging. This is where many of the age related diseases occur. The study of this area can lead to many advancements in age related diseases that can help people live longer. Though this area of study does not have many advancements it holds promising results. Though there have been numerous advancements, many people ask the question whether people need to live longer because of an already over populated Earth.

In actuality, genetics only makes up for about ten percent of the factors that affect the longevity of your life. All things considered, that is not very much; this leaves ninety percent of your life span in your own control. You are the author controlling how many pages are in your book of

Researchers measured the length of telomeres – the caps at the ends of chromosomes in white blood cells – to predict lifespan in participants who drank sugary beverages. Telomeres are directly linked to lifespan – the shorter they are, the shorter the lifespan, and the more stress, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. The study concluded that people who drank

Telomerase (TERT) is an enzyme responsible for maintaining the ends of telomeres and reversing the process of telomere shortening in humans by adding a “TTAGGG” polynucleotide to the 3’ end of the telomere. The addition of the “TTAGGG” compensates for inefficiencies in replication of the ends of DNA in eukaryotes. Telomerase is limited to highly proliferative cells such as germ cells and lymphocytes where the telomerase is necessary to maintain telomere length, and the telomeres themselves are not sufficiently long to facilitate such rapid cell division without incurring damage to the DNA. Most somatic cells exhibit no telomerase activity and in cells where telomerase is present telomerase activity is strictly regulated. In cells that exhibit

For as long as humans have been able to develop societies and inquire about the world, people have been attempting to find ways to prolong life. The early alchemists searched for the ever elusive philosopher’s stone, while the Spanish Conquistadores traveled to distant lands in hopes to find the “Fountain of Youth.” Even today, we continue to search for the “elixir” of life. Currently, researchers are using modern science to find a way to extend our telomeres and allow our cells to regenerate, thus enabling us to live longer. Unfortunately, even with our advancements in science and medicine along with centuries of attempts, human mortality is one thing we haven’t been able to change. No matter how much we try and get rid of that fact of life, it remains a guarantee. Our greatest flaw as

Despite the many theory's Science now knows that the body has a DNA called telomeres and over time with aging these telomeres become brittle.

Carol W. Greider discovered the enzyme telomerase, which is how chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell divisions. She discovered this while being a graduate student in Berkeley, along with her partner Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak. Her father was a physics professor, and she is dyslexic. Yet, she managed to make a great discovery and even show people that women can be in the scientific field as well. Her discovery has helped many scientists, and thanks to her and her partner, we have been able to use it for many uses. The story is Carol W. Greider is quite an interesting one. She had definitely been through a lot to get to where she was. She was born in April 15, 1961, San Diego , CA, USA. She was dyslexic, and her mother

Telomerase extends the telomeres of the chromosomes, and it is important during the development period. Although, telomerase activates in 90% of tumors. The function of the enzyme telomerase is when the enzyme extends the telomeres of the chromosomes. The enzyme is making the DNA using RNA as a template (Telomeres and Telomerase). The binding of the enzyme goes to a special RNA molecule to contain a sequencing which is complementary to the telomere repeat. It then extends an overhanging strand of the telomere DNA using the complementary RNA as a template. The overhang then becomes long enough, and the matching strand is made by a normal DNA replication. This finally produces a double-stranded DNA.

The way God created us as humans is a life cycle where eventually late adulthood comes with the biology of aging. Santrock (2013) describes five different theories of why humans age (p. 541). The evolutionary theory explains that aging is more of a natural selection process, and diseases occur in the elderly because they “would have been eliminated” if they were in younger people (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Cellular clock theory describes how cells get tired of dividing after they have been reproducing for so long (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Free-radical theory explains when “cells metabolize energy the by-products include unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals” (Santrock, 2013, p.541). The unstable oxygen molecules can damage DNA and other structures inside the cell (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Mitochondrial theory describes how aging occurs because of the mitochondria essentially wearing out and becoming less efficient (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Mitochondria are the cell’s “power house,” and they convert energy inside the cell (Bailey, 2008). The last theory, hormonal stress theory, illustrates the effects of stress, especially long term stress, on aging (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Stress released hormones which depress the immune system making people more susceptible to disease (Santrock, 2013, p.542). There are many theories about why human’s age, and all of them may be true, but regardless aging is inevitable and so are its effects.

Aging is the process of becoming older, as we age, multiple mutations occur that concern all the processes of aging well as it compromising a number of different genes. There are many theories of biological aging, such as the Cellular Aging Theory, Immunological Theory, and the Wear and Tear Theory. The Cellular Aging theory describes the process of aging in which cells slow their number of replication, thus giving each species a “biological clock that determines its maximum life span” and how quickly one 's health will deteriorate(Hooyman, 42). After a certain number of years, each cell which follows an apparent biological clock starts to replicate itself less, thus the specific individual or species slowly deteriorates. This theory gives

The specific aim of the project is original as no detailed reference values for telomere length in children are available. However, the probable impact of the reference values will be low because telomere length is a biomarker of questionable value. The association of telomere attrition with mortality and morbidity has been widely reported, but it has many limitations. An important limitation is the technical variability and dependence on laboratory procedures. It is important to remark that the project aims to determine telomere length with qPCR, a method of known sensitivity to differences in technique or equipment. Therefore, the reference values will be of limited validity beyond the specific laboratory where they are developed. In addition,