A Chart on Telomeres and Aging
The Science for Life Extension Foundation produces very attractive materials to both explain the science of aging and advocate for larger research programs aimed at the extending healthy human life span. Most of these documents and posters start out in Russian, but a fair number are translated over time. Here, Maria Konovalenko shows off an English-language poster describing what is known of the relationships between telomeres, telomerase, and aging. Telomeres are caps of repeated DNA sequences attached to the ends of chromosomes, shortening with cell divisions, and lengthened by the actions of telomerase. They are a central part of evolved feedback loops involving cell aging and replication, and are influenced by health, stress, and many other factors not yet fully understood. Telomeres generally become shorter on average with increased age and ill health, but the roots of that process are complicated: it is unclear as to whether changes in telomere length maintenance are a contributing cause or a resulting consequence of age-related degeneration and accumulated cell-level damage."
Link: http://mariakonovalenko.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/telomeres-and-aging-chart/