Answering the question of aging

This is actually pretty old news since we've known about telomerase for quite a while - 2 decades at least.

On the end of each chromosome there are long repeating sequences of DNA. This section is called the telomere. When a cell divides, the mechanism that copies the DNA doesn't copy the entire telomere. So with each division, the telomere gets progressively shorter.

At a certain point, the telomere is so short that it reaches what is called the Hayflick limit. At that point, the cell becomes senescent or it's internal self destruct mechanism (apoptosis) is initiated.

The idea is that if you could induce cells to make telomerase, the enzyme that rebuilds telomeres, you could prolong life and possibly prevent aging.

Scientists discover the secret to a long life... but it's only your dog that will benefit

A team of scientists claims that it may have the secret to a longer life - but so far the treatment is only suitable for pets.

The potential cure for age is a drug which protects telomeres, sections of DNA long thought to be the key to the ageing process.

However, the treatment is not yet considered safe for humans, and may first be tested on dogs and cats by being added to pet food.

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Here's another short article. I'm not sure if Bill Andrews, head of Sierra Sciences is talking about the same chemical or not. He says that a drug that induces production of telomerase should actually make people look and feel younger. He plans to present his findings at Cambridge later in the year.

http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=46640&n=122

Andrews said current anti-aging drugs in the market like TA-65 and Isagenix's Product B only slows down aging, but his drug will take it a few steps further.

"Everything is pointing in the direction where we will actually get younger and healthier," said Andrews.

Sierra Sciences has yet to find the home-run telomerase-activating chemical. Andrews said with adequate funding, that ideal drug can be developed in the next three years.

Dr. Andrews is scheduled to attend a conference in Cambridge, United Kingdom later this year to present his findings.

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p_o_s_pc said:

In AP Bio last year me and the teacher got into a nice convo of why clones don't live long and have genetic problems. What it boils down to is when the DNA is taken from the subject to make the clone it isn't the full DNA sequence.
The clone problem can be "solved" by taking DNA very early in life(read before birth)
How it relates to this thread is clones fail because of the same factors that cause aging.

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Excellent point. I just want to clarify. When you take cells from an adult organism and use those to create embryos for a clone, the embryonic cells will have the shorter telomeres characteristic of mature cells.

While gestating, the embryo produces telomerase which will replace the pieces of the telomere lost during fetal development. But I don't think it will add to the length of the telomeres. So when the clone baby is born, it's telomeres are about as long as those in an adult. That means it's cells will hit the Hayflick limit much earlier in life than if it had started with cells that had full-length telomeres. Therefore its cells will become senescent and die much earlier in its life than what you would expect from a non-cloned animal of the same species.

What's interesting to note is that telomere length varies from one person to another. So my cells might be able to withstand 50k divisions and your's might be able to go 60k. I think this is part of what accounts for the range of normal life spans in humans and other organisms.