Did you know that every chromosome in our body has a protective cap like the cap of a pen called telomere? Learn what telomeres are, what they are for and what can happen to our body when they’re abnormally short. This video was produced in collaboration with Team Telomere.
Is Aging in Our Genes?
Why do some people age more quickly than others? Learn about a pioneering experiment that changed the field of aging forever and made us re-examine what longevity really is! This video describes pioneering research performed by the biologist Cynthia Kenyon, who hypothesized that genes could control the rate of aging. To figure out which genes…
The Key to Chromosome Immortality
In the 1980s, scientists knew that DNA polymerase could not copy the ends of chromosomes, yet chromosome ends were still largely maintained in an organism. Additionally, they observed that the ends of chromosomes consists of highly repetitive sequences they called telomeres. Blackburn and her colleagues hypothesized that the cell must have a mechanism to add…
Stopping the Clock
What if we could stop aging? Or even reverse it? Scientists are discovering new ways to apply gene therapy to the question of longevity in a mouse model! Original Article: Telomerase Gene Therapy in Adult and Old Mice Delays Aging and Increases Longevity Without Increasing Cancer. Bernades de Jesus et al. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2010….