The Science of Aging with Telomeres

Greetings to my favorite science community online, StemSocial.

It's @skyehi and I'm happy to be back again to share another really intriguing topic in the medical science field.

In my previous blog post on StemSocial we discussed The Science of Neuroprosthetics and how it's been effective in restoring lost Sensation and Movement for patients that lost limbs or sensory through accidents or even during birth.

In today's blog post we're going to be discussing a topic that I deem extremely important in human life. Let's discuss the science of aging and how it all happens with Telomeres.

Original Image Source by Fayette Reynolds M.S. from Pexels

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Aging as you would realize after observing all ecosystems, is a natural part of life that's got us all wondering why it happens the way it does with the body deteriorating bit by bit until a vital organ gets damaged and the organisms can no longer live.

However, science is now helping us make good sense of how aging happens and what the root cause is.

At the very core of this exploration or research are telomeres, these tiny, but extremely vital things inside our cells that have a big say in how and why we age.

Let's dive into the world of telomeres, understanding what they really are, how they affect aging, and the very interesting ways we might be able to use their secrets to live longer and feel healthier at our old age.

Understanding Telomeres

So here's an important question for today's blog. What's a telomere?

Well, telomeres are like protective caps at the end of your DNA. It's more like those plastic ends on your shoelaces.

Now imagine if these plastics ends in your shoelaces weren't there, the lace strings will fall off little by little as you keep tying and untying your shoes.

That's kinda like the work of these Telomeres. They protect your DNA strands from damage.

These little telomere caps are very important because they keep your chromosomes in good shape when your cells have to divide.

We all know how babies grow to become adults. Your chromosomes have to divide to create more cells to both replace your dead cells and to increase the number of cells or create new ones.

That's basically how we get bigger and develop new body parts like for instance during puberty.

But here's the twist to the whole unfortunate story of aging. Each time the cell splits, these telomeres get shorter.

They keep getting shorter as the cells divide over and over until there's no more telomeres. So basically the length of the telomeres in a way determines our natural lifespan.

Here's a super cool fact for you - the telomeres in the DNA of women are generally longer than those in the men. Which is why on average, women have longer lifespans than men.

The Cell's Countdown

You can think of telomeres like a countdown clock inside your cells.

Each time that cells divide, the clock ticks, and your telomeres get a bit shorter, just like those grains of sand slipping through an hourglass. It repeats the process of getting shorter and shorter until time's up.

Now as the telomeres get really short, the cells can no longer divide, and that's a very huge part of what makes us age and more vulnerable to age-related problems.

It's like this, when the telomeres get shorter and cells can longer divide, this means old and dead cells can no longer be replaced with fresher and newer cells.

So imagine getting old and the cells of your eyes can no longer divide to replace the dead cells. You basically start losing the number of active and functional cells in your eye which eventually leads to eye or sight issues for older folks.

Telomeres and Age-Related Stuff

Through years of scientific research we have found a very strong link between shorter telomeres and all sorts of age-related health issues.

Medical issues like heart disease, cancer, and even brain problems become more likely when your telomeres get shorter and shorter.

I believe this discovery tells us that telomeres can give us a pretty good idea of how healthy we are and how long we might stick around.

So doctors can just check your telomere lengths and be able to determine your lifespan which of course is not an exact time or date of your death but something close to that.

So What Can We Do About It?

So the big question is can we do anything to keep those telomeres longer? - Simple answer : YES

Let's look at a few ways of getting this done.

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• Lifestyle Choices

It's really not rocket science, living healthy helps maintain those telomeres, of course not permanently but in a way slows down their reduction a bit.

Things like eating good food, staying active with good exercise, managing stress, getting enough rest, and hanging out with friends and family you love can all help keep your telomeres in better shape.

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• Telomerase Enzyme

Now here's the part were we think of the possibility of tweaking the telomeres to stay long.

Scientists through vigorous research are looking into ways to use an enzyme called telomerase to add length to those telomeres.

Imagine if we can find a perfect way to keep our telomeres longer, this may very much be the ultimate key to living linger healthier and even possibly immortality.

It's almost like giving the telomeres a little boost.

However this is still in the early stages, so they're still figuring out if it's safe and really works. Since it's about messing with genetics and cells, we stand the risk of a disease like cancer.

If they manage to add telomeres enzyme and the cells division gets out of control, it's almost like you're literally asking for cancer.

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• Anti-Aging Supplements

Some good supplements, like vitamins and things with antioxidants, might greatly help protect and maybe even extend your telomeres.

However this is also another research in the early phase. Scientists are still studying these to see how well or effective they work.

As I bring today's blog post to a closure, understanding how telomeres affect aging is basically like discovering a secret ingredient to a longer and healthier life.

While we still cannot completely avoid aging, knowing about telomeres is almost like having a cheat code for extra health and less time with health problems.

As we keep advancing in our research, more will be learned and we'll eventually have very practical ways of slowing down the aging process or letting older folks live healthier lives.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to read today's blog post. I hope you enjoyed this topic and found it informative or helpful. As always my blogs are open for questions and comments regarding the blog topic.

Have a lovely day and catch you next time on StemSocial. Goodbye ❤️

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