I came across an article in Popular Science, titled "Harvard Reverses Aging Process in Mice, Could Lead to Human Anti-Aging Treatments". Now in this day and age of vanity, this can be quite a significant finding. As we age, the ends of our DNA (telomeres) are cut shorter and shorter with each cell division. This continues until the telomeres are completely gone and the cell dies.
The scientists in this study injected the mice with telomerase, which replenishes the telomere sequence at the ends of chromosomes. Telomerase in humans is found in fetal tissue and germ cells, but not in our somatic cells. So as our cells divide, our telomeres become shorter and shorter until the cell can no longer divide. This is aging.
Of course the scientist warn that this treatment may not be applicable to humans and could cause cancerous cells to develop as a result of unchecked cell division. But the hope of the scientists who conducted this study is that one day they may be able to improve the quality of life for older people whose organs may not function properly anymore, or who have age related complications in their health
I thought this was quite an interesting study. I always try to get my daily dose of antioxidants in my diet, to counter the effects of free radicals, which damage telomere regions of DNA and cause aging. However my interests are not in vanity, but rather in just wanting to be able to function and be healthy as I grow older.
