What'd happen if a person was born with telomeres twice as long?
from frenchfryenjoyer@lemmings.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world on 27 Aug 00:12
https://lemmings.world/post/32923718
from frenchfryenjoyer@lemmings.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world on 27 Aug 00:12
https://lemmings.world/post/32923718
#nostupidquestions
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Noticably? I imagine their skin imperfections would be twice as large… or maybe √2 as large?
Probably cancer, but if not they would age slower and look younger longer assuming they didn’t tan their skin to a crisp or something
The vast vast vast majority of people do not die because their telomeres run out. So the most likely outcome is no change, standard person
However, if this person took care of their metabolic health, then they might live twice as long. The current human telomeres suggest a lifespan of 120 years. So this person with careful attention, might hit 240
The great flood that left no evidence behind and all large animals were rescued by a guy who built a boat? The one that also left behind no genetic evidence of such a catastrophic population bottleneck? That great flood?
That’s the flood that wiped out humanity because we did not do as we were instructed to do. That was the first great reset in our history.
(sigh) cool story
They would get cancer much sooner in life. The timing of cells dying from telomere shortening overlaps with the timing of DNA mutations that trigger tumors. In other words, humans have a set lifespan that balances cell death with cancer onset. In mice, they live longer and age slower, but mice are a poor model for human ageing.
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12664-x