The perspective on aging varies greatly depending on culture, and Western society often makes youth with health and success. Aging is a natural process, but it is associated with a lot of health problems and leads scientific efforts to better understand the mechanism. At the molecular level, aging increases physical and cognitive decrease, the risk of disease due to the accumulation of cell damage, and ultimately death.
Researchers know for a long time that telomeres, a protective cap at the end of the chromosome, play an important role in cell aging. Every time the cell is divided, telomeres are slightly shortened. Factors such as chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle and insufficient sleep can accelerate this process. Over time, telomeres are so short that they can no longer protect DNA, causing cell function disorders and aging.
The team of Duke University and the University of California, the University of California, recently studied the influence of the maximum power and food shortages of Dwarf Fox Aboriginal people. their resultpublishing BiologyThis small primates suggest that they can reverse cell aging and provide potential insights to age -related disease research.
Metabolism
During the maximum power saving mode, mammals suffer from the steps of metabolic depression, known as torpor that sometimes stops by a simple period of body temperature increase (euthanasia) to maintain survival.
The main function of this process is to preserve energy at the time of lack of food and extreme environmental conditions. These metabolic changes create an ideal scenario for studying telomeres as telomeres respond to rapid physiological changes.
FAT-Tailed Dwarf Lemurs, the only primary primary primary primary primary primary primary primary to hibernation, consumes a maximum power saving mode for up to seven months. They reduce their heart rate by 96 %, breathe every 10 minutes, and wake up once a week.
Read more: Can humans hibernate in the future?
Temporary cell reign
In order to investigate the impact of the maximum power of telomeres, researchers lowered the temperature of the mid -50’s to Fahrenheit, inducing the maximum power saving mode in the 15 dwarfs of the Duke Lemur Center. Fox monkeys were divided into two groups. One was completely dormant, while relying on fat stored for survival, while the other was awake and approached food when he was active.
Gene samples collected through cheek swabs and analyzed using QPCR showed that telomeres not only avoided shortening in maximum power saving mode, but also grew longer.
Research author Lydia K. Greene said, “The result was in the opposite direction as you expect.” press release. “At first I thought the data was turned off.”
However, further analysis confirmed the results: the fox monkey who experienced a deeper topo showed a significant extension of telomeres and maintained a stable telomeric length that was periodically awakened. But this effect was temporary within two weeks of rising in the maximum power saving mode. Fox monkeys’ telomere originally returned to length. According to the senior authors Marina Blanco, this extension can act as a protective mechanism for cell damage that may occur during periodic warming.
Life Expansion Stress Response
Dwarf Fox Monkey is not the only mammal that shows telomeres in response to extreme metabolism. Astronauts and scientists working in the deep sea, experiencing a long metabolism, showed similar telomer changes.
BLANCO has developed a mechanism to improve cell survival by temporarily extending the length of telomeres, and eson that it can contribute to longer life than non -Heverberting. This discovery also questions the connection between food shortages and telomeres, but direct connections with longevity are unclear.
This results emphasize the complex relationships between telomeres dynamics, energy balance and maximum sleep mode. Understanding the mechanism of this phenomenon can open a way to develop new treatments to slow or prevent human age -related diseases.
article source
Our writer Discovermagazine.com Use fellow review research and high -quality sources in the article and use editorial reviews for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. In this article, review the source used below.
Jenny is excellent for translating complex scientific concepts, from medical innovation and pharmacological discoveries to the latest nutrition after working as a biotechnology research assistant in three labs in three countries. Her interests are expanded to topics such as human evolution, psychology and quirky animal stories. If she is not immersed in a popular science book, she will find a wave that catches Vancouver Island on her long board.