The role of \”junk DNA\” sequences in cancer, aging
A link to a dna proving your age, longevity or junk.
~~~
The human body is made up of trillions and trillions of cells. The human body ages when its cells stop reproducing and dividing. Scientists know that genes affect how cells age, and therefore how long people live. However, how this works is still unclear. Researchers at Washington State University led a study that has solved a piece of the puzzle. This brings scientists closer to understanding aging.
The research team led by Jiyue Zhang, professor at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Beijing, identified a region of DNA known as VNTR2-1, that seems to drive the activity of telomerase, which is shown to slow down aging of certain cell types. The study was published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The telomerase genes controls the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that helps to produce telomeres. Telomeres are the caps on the ends of each DNA strand, protecting the chromosomes in our cells. The length of the telomeres in normal cells gets shorter each time cells divide. Cells that have too short telomeres can’t reproduce and age, leading to their death. In certain cell types, including cancer and reproductive cells, the activity of the gene telomerase ensures that the telomeres will be reset to the same size when DNA is copied. It is this process that resets the clock for new generations, but also allows cancer cells to continue multiplying and forming tumors.
Source:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-potential-role-junk-dna-sequence.html
