Here's one that will make you think: Telomeres and antiaging

This is not just for people in science, everyone should read this! It's really not that long :)

Scientific researchers who discovered the enzyme telomerase have recently received the Nobel Prize. Telomerase is the enzyme that helps protect the end cap, or telomeres, of DNA and prevents the DNA from unraveling. Research suggest that these telomeres are related to aging and cancer. If the telomere is short, the cell cannot replicate and the cell will die, which contributes to the natural progression of life. In cancerous cells, telomeres are long and keep the DNA intact, thus allowing cancerous cells to divide and replicate.

In my molecular biology class, we have been discussing telomeres and their relationship with aging and cancer. Here's my contribution to the class. It's about a girl who is 16 yrs old but she looks like a one year old. Doctors, scientist and the media have asked, Does she hold the secret to the fountain of youth.

The discussion of the "fountain of youth" and telomeres reminded me of a 20/20 episode about a girl named Brooke Greenberg. At this time she is a 16 yr. old girl, but hasn't grown since she was the age of one. The only things that have seemed to grown for this girl are her hair and nails, everything else has stayed the same. So far, she has been the only person in the world reported to have this condition. Does Brooke Greenberg's DNA hold the secret to the "Fountain of Youth"? Many TV specials and news articles have discussed this. The first article listed below suggest that doctors and researchers examine Brooke's telomeres on her DNA and compare it to children at 1 yr since it has been shown that telomeres and aging are related. The second link below is about testing that can be performed to determine a person's biological age vs. chronical age, based on the length of the telomere. The company SpectraCell laboratories measures the telomere length in lymphocytes to determine their biological age. With this information, scientists could test the Brooke's DNA to determine her biological age. This may open up many doors to further research on anti-aging and anti-cancer therapy.

The third link is the actual article on Brooke Greenberg's condition.

1. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2042375/brooke_greenberg_frozen_in_time_may_pg2_pg2.html?cat=2

2. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spectracell-laboratories-introduces-telomere-testing-62053297.html

3. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/Story?id=7880954&page=1