The "telomeres" (not sure I spelled that right) are something that interest me..
Some say that is the secret to immortality... Not that I would wish that on anyone, :)
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The "telomeres" (not sure I spelled that right) are something that interest me..
Some say that is the secret to immortality... Not that I would wish that on anyone, :)
i don't know if i understand it correctly, but from reading, i get the impression that telomere length is a trade off. Longer telomeres mean a higher probability of cell mutation and cancer.
I wrote a post where I discuss them a few days ago, if you are interested in them. It's in relation to research showing that infections during our first few months of life cause telomere shortening, and can weaken our immune system function later in life.
Would make sense.. Almost as if we have pre-lengthened life fuses taht can be burned up faster or slower depending on environment?
Responding to comment below here. Not exactly, it's a normal function of cellular division that they get shorter (due to how DNA replication works). The early infections just cause a lot of immune cell replication to fight off diseases and for some reason at that stage, telomerase (the enzyme which keeps telomeres from shortening as quickly) is not sufficient to prevent significant shortening. Don't know why yet, more research into it will be necessary to better understand and the why. They have just reported the observation that this happens.
Appreciate the explanation. That is what I kind of figured but had no way of knowing for sure.