The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #166691   Message #4013385
Posted By: Donuel
13-Oct-19 - 10:32 AM
Thread Name: BS: Question About Aging and Regret(s)
Subject: RE: BS: Question About Aging and Regret(s)
We have a transient way to grow younger by lengthening our telomeres.
Before someone goes off half cocked, it is true that size matters when it comes to cell division life and longevity.

A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Treated cells behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells, multiplying with abandon in the laboratory dish rather than stagnating or dying. The procedure, which involves the use of a modified type of RNA, will improve the ability of researchers to generate large numbers of cells for study or drug development, the scientists say. Skin cells with telomeres lengthened by the procedure were able to divide up to 40 more times than untreated cells. The research may point to new ways to treat diseases.

In conclusion 100 years is all telemere extension can offer now.
at present, most individuals are not reaching the LTL brink during their life course, but findings suggest that further extension in human longevity will be increasingly constrained by telomere length. This inference requires an assumption that a possible increase in telomere length at birth and a decrease in the average rate of telomere length attrition after birth in future generations will not offset this prediction. Notably, however, potential interventions to forestall the telomeric brink may have adverse consequences. While short LTL and alleles associated with a shorter LTL increase CVD risk, recent studies show that long LTL and alleles associated with long LTL increase risk of major cancers. Such findings beg the (evolutionary) question: Why is human telomere length as long as it is? Emerging data suggests that evolution has been fine-tuning our telomere length to balance cancer against degenerative diseases. In contemporary humans, this balance has ostensibly influenced longevity beyond the reproductive years.