Telomeros: The clocks of life

The human species has been able to increase its life expectancy year after year, however our biology places a limit on us.And the cumulus of damage in cells product of aging prevents our body from existing indefinitely, our life time is controlled by a kind of hourglasses...How long does we have left to live ? Can we be able to cheat the clock ? Come and discover more about telomeros.

What are telomeros?

All human beings have 46 chromosomes which are arranged in 23 pairs ; In general, it can be said that the shape of the chromosomes is similar to the letter "X", the chromosome is composed of long and short arms, other important parts are the centromere (central part that joins the arms) and the telomero (extreme part of the arms).

These telomeres are sequences of repeated DNA that are located at the ends of the chromosomes as " Capuchon ”, preventing them from deteriorating or merging with other chromosomes, which would cause serious genetic problems .Telomeres play a fundamental role during the cell division , the Shortening of telomeres during this process is inevitable and limits the number of times a normal cell can replicate , approximately 50 throughout life.The minimum size that a functional telomere can have is known as the limit of Hayflick and indicates that when the cell reaches smaller sizes it will begin its death process .Also being the telomere of chromosome 3 the shortest of the whole game, it is thought that it could be the trigger of cell death.

In other words we could say that very short telomeres allow a smaller amount of divisions causing a reduced longevity and on the contrary longer telomeres involve greater longevity .When we are born there are no significant differences between the length of the telomeres of men and women, however, as aging occurs, the telomeres of women end up being longer than in men, this phenomenon is still unexplained but could be the reason why Women tend to live longer years than men.

How to repair telomeres?

The secret to a longer life lies in the length of the telomeres, then being able to control the size of the telomeres and keep them in a good size could give us more years of life, since it turns out that we are not so far from controlling the telomeres thanks to the discovery of the enzyme 'telomerase' whose function is to lengthen and maintain telomeric regions.

Telomeros: The clocks of life

Experiments in mice have demonstrated the ability to increase the life of these animals even in a 24% after a treatment in which the production of the enzyme telomerase was induced.However, the danger is latent since if the telomerase concentrations are very high, it could ac tivar the tumor cells and cause cancer since they favor the immortality of malignant cells.Then the success of this therapy focuses on being able to extend life by maintaining the telomeres without producing cancer.

Likewise, Telomerase is normally active in fetal cells and after birth it is gradually deactivated in all cells except in normal stem cells and in some cells of the immune system.On the other hand, sperm and ovules already they have long telomeres and do not have telomerase activity.

Future applications

The immediate application is to test the effectiveness of drugs telomerase inhibitors as a possible antitumor therapy, alleviate the diseases associated with aging by re-introducing telomerase into cells with short telomeres, tissue production and differentiation in vitro from adult stem cells, which also need telomerase to divide indefinitely.

Telomeros: The clocks of life

The most promising application focuses on delaying aging, a common cause that triggers the appearance of diseases as the resistance to insulin or cardiovascular diseases, the incidence of which increases with age.Then, if we treated the aging of the cells, we could prevent the appearance of these diseases .that the study of the telomere and its telomerase will bring us many surprises in the not too distant future.

If you have been interested in this article, you may want to know more about why we need DNA from a man and a woman.

Comments

5 animals you don't want to cross

There is a wide variety of living beings, but many would never want to see them.Why do we want to avoid them? Everyone has their reasons, some of us are scared, others are disgusted or because, simply, they are lethal.And what can we say if we have a phobia of any of them. In this article we are going to talk about 5 animals , especially with whom, surely, most of us would avoid at all costs finding ourselves . 1.Borer worm This species of worm is a insect similar to a fly that lays its eggs in animals or humans to develop. The female lays her eggs in the edge of a wound so that the larvae feed on the tissues of the host.Seven days after they leave their host to later become a fly. 2.Pez «come-testiculos » This type of fish is a type of pirana with which, if Res man, you must be very careful.It is a vegetarian species that lives in South America. Why do you eat or bite testicles? Because he confuses them with the nuts that he includes in his diet.You know...

Why is it necessary to sleep in the dark?

"Die, sleep...maybe sound". To this phrase of Shakespeare in "Hamlet," perhaps they should have added a "and turn off the light." People need darkness to reconcile a deep and adequate dream , it is true that we can often plunge into a brief and pleasant nap during daytime , but-usually-the real Rest requires a total absence of light.And why? You may wonder: is it a fad of our brain Or perhaps a socially adopted custom, in which sleep is only scheduled when it is night? Why do we usually need to sleep in the dark? The magic of melatonin It is common for us to spend more than one night awake.We go out to party, work or simply watch television, read or surf the Internet without realizing that the hours they happen one after another.Doing it from time to time is not harmful, but if we repeated it day after day, our physical and mental health would suffer . It's not about preferences or customs acquired, at all.It is a biological need, ...

What scientists learned after studying genius children for 45 years

Started in 1971, the "Mathematically Early Youth Study," or SMPY, has tracked 5,000 of the genius children in America .It is one of the longest-lasting studies focused on gifted children that has been in history.We will tell you what they discovered. 5 things researchers discovered when studying genius children for more than four decades 1.These children Geniuses lead exceptional lives. Initially they studied the intelligence of genius children in the United States using the SAT, university entrance exams and other Intellectual Coefficient tests, then they began looking for additional factors such as university enrollment and the professional careers they pursue later in life. What enco They also showed that the most gifted children grew up to obtain doctorates and postgraduate degrees , and to register patents in a much higher proportion with respect to the less gifted children.The majority are among the top 5% of employees. According to Jonathan Wai, a psyc...

What do you know about tardigrades? The creatures that would survive in space

If you've been lucky enough to see the sequel to Carl Sagan's famous documentary series, Cosmos , you may have seen an excellent animation of the tardigrades, these microscopic beings also known as “bears of water.” What do you know about tardigrades? Creatures that would survive in space The tardigrados were discovered in the 18th century, and their name literally means "slow-moving." The first to describe them was the German Johann August Ephraim Goezee , in 1773; He was also the first to baptize them as “water bears.” Adults measure 0.5 mm, so they can be observed with the naked eye and find several in a drop of water (young people measure 0.05 mm); there are more than 1,000 species and they are classified as parartropods , that is, similar to arthropods, although there is nothing further from the figure of a crab, or a lobster. Its appearance is that of a being from another world, and it could be, for one of its most extraordinary characteristics and whi...

What would you do if you had the power? The "Stanford Jail" experiment

There are many psychological experiments of which we have spoken to you in Science Daily Online and that have been carried out throughout the history of mankind, many of them brutal, like the one carried out in the Stanford jail .Keep reading! The Stanford jail experiment was conducted in the year 1971 , at the hands of the psychologist Phillip Zimbardo , his aim: to evaluate the impact that it entailed for a person to be a prisoner or guard inside a jail. What did it consist of? Zimbardo, a psychologist who had been a professor at Stanley Milgram, who was known for his obedience experiment, in which he used electric shocks when a student failed a question.Zimbardo was interested to expand his student's research to understand how the variables of place affect human behavior. In the experiment we wanted to check how the volunteers They reacted in an environment that looked like a prison. The psychologist tried to investigate whether people who were "good"...

Could the human being live 500 years? Google affirms

Google is the information giant and one of the most versatile companies in the world-it has invested in taxis, artificial intelligence, intelligent thermostats-in recent times, it is entering the world of immortality , wanting to increase our lives 5 times. In an interview with the president of Google Ventures, Bills Maris expressed that he thinks he is We may live up to 500 years.This life extension could be due to medical advances, as well as the development of biomechanics. Development and research to extend life Bills has already invested money in genetics companies and new cancer diagnosis companies and confirms that “ all people have the tools of life sciences to get anything imagined .I just hope to live long enough to not die ”. Mr.Bills founded, in 2009, Google Ventures and controls all the basic activities carried out by the company.Previously, I study neuroscience at the Middlebury Collge and I carry out research in neurobiology at Duke University.The co-fou...

The saddest whale in the world

As they say it is the loneliest whale on the planet .As we know this species of marine animals usually live in groups, in large family groups where they establish strong bonds through which they face adversities. They only separate from their units once in a while, when a whale is about to give birth, for example.It temporarily moves away, for days after returning with its own.Nothing more.They are therefore wonderful creatures who enjoy living, growing and traveling with their own.But biologists discovered a rare exception in 1992.A whale that, for some reason, has been living alone for more than 22 years . The curious case of the lone whale Already in 1992 a group of biologists discovered in the fjords of the North Sea, something really peculiar.How could it be that a whale advanced in solitude for so many days in that area? During the time they were watching her, they never saw any other specimen approaching her.She simply limited herself to swimming in the most complet...

Why are the breasts different in size?

symmetry is a goal for those who are looking for "beauty", or at least what is commonly considered beautiful by society and its canons.Now, this is a concept quite complicated to achieve, if not impossible , because nature is not always symmetrical.This precept also applies to the breasts, why are the breasts of different sizes? The reason why the breasts are of different sizes The breasts are actually glands that are inside the chest wall. Each breast individually weighs a an average of about 200 to 285 grams, and is made up of about 12 to 20 lobes that branch from the nipple to its surroundings.All these lobes have a central duct, which opens in the nipple and allows the milk to flow out during breastfeeding. All breasts change in size during periods such as ovulation and m Ensuring: The breasts tend to be more complete, more uniform and more sensitive during ovulation , since the body combines fluid retention with extra blood flow during that part of the men...

The morning after pill in Ancient Greece? Did it exist?

In another of our articles we already talk about the revolution that the pill meant, an invention that has undoubtedly helped women to live their sexuality with the same freedom, naturalness and pleasure as men.Today in Science Daily Online We want to discover that the morning after pill existed in Ancient Greece and, therefore, that it was a much older invention than we thought, that it already had prodigious efficacy. Was there really something like the morning after pill in Ancient Greece? There is evidence that a kind of morning after pill was used in Ancient Greece and in Rome, which had the same efficiency as that sold today. In Greece there was a wild plant called Silfio (in Latin laserpicium ) and that only grew in the vicinity of the Greek city Cyrene (present-day Libya), a city founded around 632 BC Moreover, this metropolis prospered and grew thanks to the export of silfio. Silver coin of Cyrene with a sheaf of Silfio Although it had different culinary a...

What happens if you drink blood? Is it safe or harmful?

Hi Science Daily Online ! Before reading the article we would like you to know a new way to discover our curious world, through Youtube ! We have a channel that we would love to be part of.You can subscribe and meet him here-> YouTube Science Daily Online! Do you like vampires? Maybe you've heard that many people act like they are, But is this dangerous? Find out what happens if you drink blood! What happens if you drink blood? Is it safe or harmful? It is said that in small quantities, the blood is not harmful , and in small quantities it means a few tablespoons.That yes, the blood must be pathogen-free, since many diseases are transmitted through it. Acting like a vampire or adopting this strange mania of drinking blood is something that occurs more and more frequently, however rare it may seem. Blood is essential for the body and must be within it; in the heart, veins and blood vessels.Drinking it in large quantities can be harmful to health, because it c...

Science Daily Online

Search This Blog