Telomeres and aging:
When I get the chance, I like to do a little Stumbling (via stumbleupon.com). My favorite things to happen upon are physics games, rage comics and, of course, scientific articles. I recently Stumbled upon an article from Scientific American about telomeres.
Now, this article details the relationship between the length of telomeres in your DNA and your biological age, including how telomere length might be linked to age-related illnesses and perhaps even their role in aging itself.
First things first. Telomeres are made up of repeating sequences of the bases TTAGGG and are found at the ends of DNA. They are nonsensical sequences and therefore do not code for an amino acid or contain any pertinent information. Their purpose is to serve as a buffer or cushion for the delicate genetic sequences as your DNA replicates and divides, keeping the important genes from being jumbled.
As your DNA divides, a process that occurs constantly throughout your entire life, the length of your telomeres shortens slightly. When telomeres get too short, the cell dies. Or the cell can be damaged from lack of its protective telomere buffer and can become cancerous.
In short, you don't want short. Telomeres that is.
People with shorter telomeres may be predisposed to aging faster than those with longer telomeres. You could even look 6 to 8 years older than you are if your telomeres are short. And there is a positive correlation between having longer telomeres and having a longer life span!
Telomere length varies between people but studies suggest that they are controlled by genetics. And here's hoping! The Zimmerman side of my family is in such great health. My aunt is in her mid-fifties (you'd never guess) and has wonderfully beautiful skin. My grandpa is in his late-eighties and goes for long walks every day and still works on the farm. I'm hoping long telomeres run in the family. :)
There are ways to help hang on to your telomeres, and keep yourself from aging too quickly.
*keep yourself healthy and boost your immune system--viruses can shorten your telomeres
---This includes eating nontoxic, nonreactive food; exercising; reducing stress
*avoid getting sunburned! and while you're at it, avoid all types of mutagens including smoking. It is stressful for your cells to compensate for the inflicted damages. Cells in overdrive run your telomeres down!
Take a peek at a few of the interesting articles I found on telomeres for a more in-depth understanding. Information from this post came from both of these articles (although I researched a lot more than these two).
*http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=aging-telomere -----(a well-written, interesting article, not dry at all!)
*http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/telomeres/
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