Telomeres and Telomerase: What to blame for your wrinkles
- RRHS ScienceNHS
- Dec 18, 2024
- 1 min read
By: Abigail Hamilton
Telomeres are like the ends of your shoelace that prevent the laces from fraying. They exist at the ends of our DNA and are responsible for keeping it together. They also protect the DNA from getting cut off early in life. With each round of DNA replication a little bit is cut off and telomeres act as a buffer preventing the removal of our DNA while they can. The length of your telomeres determines how quickly you age, for once they are gone you start losing your DNA. This is why people get gray hairs and wrinkles as they get older. The DNA that codes for collagen, which provides structure for your skin, and melanin, which abundance determines the color of your hair, is removed. Telomerase is an enzyme with the ability to glue telomeres back together and prevents DNA from getting damaged. However, although telomerase activity is exhibited in gametes, its activity is low or absent in a majority of stem cells. Some have thought that by finding a way to safely increase the activity of telomerase in stem cells they could prevent aging but sadly, increased telomerase is also known to increase cancer. All in all, both telomerase and telomeres are essential to the functions of life and hold many possibilities and discoveries when it comes to the world of science. However, to others they may look at it with frustration knowing it is the cause for their gray hairs and wrinkles.
This is a really interesting blog! I find it fascinating how telomeres can protect against cancer by preventing mutations, but also contribute to aging, showing benefits and downfalls of the repetitive DNA sequence mechanism. I wonder what other factors, in addition to telomere shortening, contribute to aging as well.
I have learned about DNA before but Telomeres and Telomerase is something new! It is interesting how they are the cause of aging, but also cause cancer at the same time. It is also fascinating how the removal of DNA happens through Telomeres and Telomerase. I had no idea that these ends of DNA were removed and that this was a cause for aging!