Telomeres are the "end filler" of our DNA - which become shorter as we grow older. There are several analogies to this "filler" - one being the blank leaders on film - the actual visuals being the DNA. Another is the plastic bands on shoelaces - which tend to hold important DNA code intact - preventing it from changing. Another analogy of telomeres is making continual copies on a paper copier - after many generations of copies (not putting the paper to be copied exactly the same on the copier each time - the white space around the text (DNA code) encroaches on the code itself and therefore loses it's information integrity.
Some scientists believe that a more full understanding of telomeres, and telomerase - which is the enzyme which controls the lengthening / shortening of the telomeres on our DNA - is one of the major keys to aging and cancer.
I've found a few videos on the topic - however not at the major sharing sites like YouTube or Google Video. If you have the RealPlayer, you might check out these informative videos...
http://blinkx.com/results?query=telomere
The following is taken from our article collection at Telomeres.net. It is entitled "Human Immortality: A Scientific Reality?" by Gary Vey. This article gives a concise, clear description of telomeres...
Telomeres are special, essential DNA sequences at both ends of each chromosome. Each time chromosomes replicate a small amount of the DNA at both ends is lost, by an uncertain mechanism. Because human telomeres shorten at a much faster rate than many lower organisms, we speculate that this telomere shortening probably has a beneficial effect for humans, namely mortality. The telomere hypothesis of aging postulates that as the telomeres naturally shorten during the lifetime of an individual, a signal or set of signals is given to the cells to cause the cells to cease growing (senesce). At birth, human telomeres are about 10,000 base pairs long, but by 100 years of age this has been reduced to about 5,000 base pairs.
Telomerase is actually an enzyme (a catalytic protein) that is able to arrest or reverse this shortening process. Normally, telomerase is only used to increase the length of telomeres during the formation of sperm and perhaps eggs, thus ensuring that our offspring inherit long "young" telomeres to propagate the species.
So for humans to extend life we must do two things: first, eliminate the toxins in our environment that make short telomeres a "good thing" while finding a dietary or pharmaceutical method for increasing and preserving the length of our cells' telomeres. The twenty-first century may well be the era in which humans learn the secrets of eternal life, but it may also be a time to be reminded of the many dangers inherent in exploring these god-like abilities.
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www.Telomeres.net as a great source of information on the emerging world of anti-aging and cancer research.
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