Senescence

Senescence is a robust tumor suppressive mechanism that inhibits the proliferation of damaged as well as initiated cells in response to a diverse range of stresses. The observations that human benign cancer precursor lesions are comprised of senescent cells further provide evidence that senescence is a physiological mechanism that prevents cancer progression in humans, possibly at an early stage. Senescence is clearly not fail-safe, since cells in pre-cursor lesions occasionally progress towards advance stages of cancer (Michaloglou et al., 2005). However, what remains unclear is if cells in these pre-cursor lesions escape senescence by acquiring changes that help them overcome the restrictive barriers of proliferation or if cancer progression…

In scientific terms, aging is referred to as “senescence”. Senescence is the process where cells fail to sufficiently replace the older cells, thus reducing the body’s functional capacity. (merriam-webster, 2016) It appears counter-intuitive for evolution to engineer organisms with a limited life span. However, it is not the intent of evolution to deteriorate our cells. The infinite number of outside factors that bring damage upon a life form are to blame. Our DNA can be harmed by radiation,…

Hypothalamic programming of systemic ageing involving IKK-b, NF-kB and GnRH (Zhang et al., 2013). Cellular senescence is when a cell’s replicative mechanism becomes arrested. This was phenomenon was first described in Hayflick’s experiment. Cellular senescence is usually due to protect the cell from becoming cancerous but it also plays a prominent role in aging (van Deursen, 2014). While senescence describes a halt in proliferation, cancer development is the uncontrolled proliferation of…

People have come to expect aging and death as a fact of life but if instead people looked at it as an unnecessary evil then it could be stopped. Senescence has the potential to be stopped if instead of fighting smaller battles as the king did with the tigers and the rattlesnakes people instead focused on how to end and reverse aging. Bostrom does not necessarily believe in increasing people’s life span but instead increasing their health span. Through “The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant” brings to…

Recently, individuals are experiencing hardships as they are facing botsofe while their children are also facing the new idea of botsofe (Livingston, 2003: 218). This has lead to elderly individuals who are classified as botsofe needing to take care of their children, who are also now regarded as botsofe (Livingston, 2003: 219). In fact, “the current reconfiguring of the relationship between physiological signs, experiences of senescence, and social aspects of elderhood is making for a longer…

A major key of interest is the study of a group of cells known as senescence cells, which can increase the inflammatory response and is also linked to major diseases including atherosclerosis, dementia, and even cancer (Hobson, paragraph 8). Dr. James Kirkland, director of the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota performed an experiment of mice given a drug known as a senolytic. The result of the mice given this drug showed a decrease in aging-induced alterations. In addition to…

These contraptions in a cell are called telomeres which protect chromosome ends from damage. Every time a cell divides telomere caps shorten a bit. Once telomere caps shrink to a certain length they sound an alarm that drives the cell into senescence. If the cell ignores these alarms and the telomeres continue to shrink, the cells chromosomes will eventually fuse together or break apart, causing damage fatal to the cell. If telomeres operated properly in cancerous cells, the cancer would have…

This theory isn’t about the “length” or “time” associated with the extension of life but rather addresses the process of postponing age-related illnesses, thus leading to longer active lives. Even though we are technically alive and breathing does that necessarily mean we are living? That is exactly what this theory strives to address, it is the science behind maintaining a youthful lifestyle and extending the capability of retaining a healthy, youthful lifestyle for as long as physically…

Death, and Dying On April 14, 2016, I called my grandmother and was talking to her about death and dying. It seemed appropriate to know her wishes if something were to happen to her here soon. One question that I asked was: Do you have a durable power of attorney, will, or living trust? Her response was: “Yes, I have a durable power of attorney and a will” (personal communication, April 14, 2016). Each individual should create themselves a durable power of attorney and a will. This way their…

Growing older is a reality of life, that hopefully everyone will have to face. Although transitioning to an older adult may be an inevitable process in the human experience, my personal interactions with the aged have been fairly limited. My interactions with older adults have mostly consisted of relationships with all of my grandparents and a great grandmother. Even without extensive exposure to the aged population as a whole, it is clear to me that the aging process looks vastly different for…