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

Hypnagogic hallucinations: between wakefulness and sleep. Does it happen to you?

Sleeping, sounding, waking up...are activities that we carry out daily but that involve a much greater complexity than it seems at first glance.In Science Daily Online we have talked about sleep disorders and some phenomena that occur to many people while they sleep as Shaking or spasms before falling asleep.On this occasion we have approached another of these trances that can occur when we go to sleep, are the Hypnagogic hallucinations: between wakefulness and sleep.Does it happen to you? Hypnagogic hallucinations The hypnagogic hallucinations are those that occur little before the dream begins. They can be visual, auditory and/or tactile .The name was cradled by Alfred Maury (1817-1892), a French physician and academic who made deep studies on the dream in the 19th century, to talk about a situation that occurs at the time of the transition between wakefulness and sleep. The pa Labra hypnagogica/o comes from Greek and is composed of «hupnos» (dream) and «agogos» (induce...

Manage your fears | The RIA method

In the following article we want to talk to you about controlling your fears.Fear is something destructive that, although it exists to keep us alert to possible dangers, usually has not so beneficial consequences.Fear of speaking in public, on a first date to a job interview, and many other situations in which fear is our worst enemy because it usually blocks us. So the next time you have to control your fears, you should follow the researcher's advice of fear Mary Poffenroth and her RIA method that we will explain below. RIA method to manage your fears When we talk about controlling your fears we don't always refer to the sensation you can have when being on the edge of a cliff or facing a wild beast.The researcher Poffenroth explains in her investigation that fear presents itself basically in two ways; real and fictitious fear.The real fear comes from a real threat, a threat against your life, as we said before, a precipice, a wild beast threatening us, a thief who s...

4 things we only know that we adore on rainy days

Rainy days.Do you adore or hate them? Everything will undoubtedly depend on the country in which you live, and on that latitude where atmospheric conditions mark your rhythms and even your life. The North American countries see that fine, constant and daily rain, like that kind companion that draws their days and from which on occasion, why not, I would like to let go to enjoy intense sunny days where the light floods it everything, where nothing is left in the shadows, and where one can plan anything knowing that he will always have the good weather. If you live in those places of pleasant temperature where the rains only come occasionally for bring occasional disaster and flooding, you will also miss those kind rainfalls that are almost the leitmotiv of cities like London or Paris. Be like that is, if you like rain, you are likely to identify with these dimensions.Are you with us? The city suddenly acquires another reality And suddenly, all that scenario in which yo...

5 Signs that you are a pathological liar

We all lie, that's right, we do it to get away with ours, not to hurt others, to get what we want.However, when those lies go from small to changing lives, you're in a dangerous situation , perhaps dangerously close to being a mitomano. There are many authors who throughout history have reflected on the lie and numerous are the phrases about the lie that today are part of our cultural background.Without a doubt it is a very interesting concept and worth exploring, but first...Are you a pathological liar? Are you a pathological liar? Find out! 1.Lies are much more frequent You should know that when you start to lie about anything, you are no longer trying to protect someone's feelings, you are a liar pathological. When you get to the point where, regardless of the situation, you get an excuse to manipulate the truth, going as far as inventing complete stories to project a better image of you...It is a clear sign that maybe you should start worrying about your te...

5 great inventions made by women

It may seem that women have been for centuries away from the great ideas that make the world progress, but is not like that .In Science Daily Online we have already seen how women have actively collaborated in this development, and this time we bring you 5 great inventions made by women that we believe will surprise you. 5 great inventions made by women 1.The Monopoly The Monopoly, the board game par excellence, that has gathered environment at a table for several generations, he was devised by a woman: Lizzie Magie in 1903 .Lizzie patented it in 1904 with the name "The Landlord's Game".With the intention to teach the economist's thesis Henry George .A few years later, Charles Darrow made a version of Atlantic C ity, which I call Monopoly, to try to sell it to Parker Brothers, which I finally got. In the legal investigations for a litigation that the toy company kept with the creator of the Anti-Monopoly, it was discovered that really the ...

The longest vertebrates in the world!

We love history, we can't help it; and the science that walks alongside.This article introduces you to some nice animals, who live longer than anyone: the Galapagos turtles . An archipelago full of turtles In 1535 Fray Tomas de Berlanga headed from Panama-where he was bishop-to Peru with the mission, ordered by Carlos V , to act as an intermediary between Pizarro and his men, who had entered into conflict shortly after the conquest of the Inca Empire. However, bad weather and currents were diverting and took him to the accidental discovery of an archipelago, which the Galapagos baptized, for the amount of turtles they found living peacefully in it. Then, as used to happen in those times of conquest, the process of extinction of the and local species. One of pirates Before the end of the XVI century the Galapagos they became English pirate shelters that attacked Spanish ships, the first being Richard Hawkins, in 1593.Later, in the 19th century, it was ...

Cases of women who gave birth without knowing they were pregnant

Is it possible that a woman does not know she is pregnant until the moment she begins to feel the labor pains and gives birth? Although it is uncommon, if it can happen and it is that some women do not present the common symptoms of a pregnancy, also in cases of obesity and/or very young people, the tummy can really be noticed and confused with weight gain.Know your amazing stories . I didn't know I was pregnant 1.De holidays in the Alps The case of Karine is quite particular for the simple reason that the woman of 45 years had had two other children and knew exactly what it was like to be pregnant. While on vacation in the Alps with her family, she felt a strong stomachache .The woman went to the bathroom and just 15 minutes later gave birth to a little girl who was perfectly healthy. Karine couldn't believe she was pregnant without realizing it, as her period was always i Regulate , from time to time I spotted and also did not show any other sympto...

10 Fun Facts About Nipples

We all have a pair of nipples, there are even some who have one of more, but how much do we really know about these? 1.The Areola-gasmo is something. Some people experience orgasm by nipple stimulation alone.It's weird, but it happens. 2.Child or girl? Everyone has nipples due to how fetuses develop in the womb: Nipples appear before the sexual organs . 3.And who are you from? The nipples can be of a great variety of shapes, sizes and colors Dark, pink, brown, large, small...Everything is normal! The same goes for the areolas (the colored skin around the nipple). They can be very light or very dark.They can also be as small as currencies of dime or as wide as dinner plates Everything is normal! 4.Montgomery glands The small bumps in your areolas are called Montgomery glands.They are called that by William Montgomery, the first man who described them in an article scientist in 1837.Ah, and they are totally normal and not something to worry about. ...

The Vadoma tribe | Of African origin and with ostrich feet

If you have reached this article, it is because you have surely heard about the Vadoma tribe, an African people famous for having ostrich feet.Like an ostrich? Yes, as you read it, the ostrich feet, like two big claws that come out, instead of the five fingers we are used to. Didn't you know this was possible? Do not worry, we were also surprised at some point, so at Science Daily Online we sat down to find out more about this Vadoma to bring you all the information you need to know about this particular African tribe. Don't forget to find out of the peculiar history of the Vadoma tribe. Content Index The Vadoma: the ostrich feet village Ectrodactyly is an alteration where the three central toes disappear to give way to two prominent claws. To begin, we have to locate ourselves geographically. We are in the amazing African continent, where the savanna opens in all directions , the heat reigns and the sun is at its zenith showing us all the curiosities of Africa tha...

Find out how the wolves got "resurrected" Yellowstone

The negative fame of the wolves has accompanied these beautiful animals since the beginning of time, but we know that in many parts of the world they cause serious damage with their attacks, sometimes very wild , but even so, the benefits they can offer to nature are sometimes simply incredible.A direct example of this is found in the Yellowstone National Park. We are sure that this story will surprise you. The wonderful trophic web of wolves in Yellowstone There were almost seven decades of absence.Almost 70 years in which, the presence of the wolf in Yellowstone was almost non-existent.Can you imagine what such a thing supposes in a natural scenario of great impact like the one that opens in the middle of the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ? An excessive increase in the lower links of the trophic chain, that is, of all those herbivorous animals that over decades and decades left areas of the park incredibly depopulated with vegetation. The situation was already ...

Science Daily Online

Search This Blog