Cell+Length

**Cell Length:**
Human cells that lack the telomerase enzyme capping them will gradually lose length through each successive replication. As the cells grow shorter they will eventually reach the limits of their replication abilities, and will then proceed into the old age or Senescence stage of their life-cycle.

Relationship to Telomeres & Aging:
Telomere, and in particular the shortening and lengthening of the telomeres have become the key principles and the main focus of research when investigating the potential impact on aging, and age related diseases. The average telomere length is ‘set’ and is generally maintained in cells that use a large amount of the telomerase enzyme. However it is understood that as the cell ages, so does the length of the telomere shorten, regardless of the amount of enzyme present. When the telomere is shortened it leads to a loss of function, and eventually into the senescence stage of the life-cycle, and in rare cases can mutate into cancerous cells. The length of the Telomere, or lack-there-of, is used to determine the lineage of a cell and/or ‘precursor-product relationships as well as the rate of cell division’ ( Hodes, R.J. 1999). It is this information that is proving to be the most helpful in current research in age related diseases, particularly in the field of genetic diseases.

By Joshua Campe **References:** Hodes, R.J. (1999) ‘Telomere Length, Aging, and Somatic Cell Turnover’ [Online]. __The Rockefeller University Press__. Available: [] [Accessed 29 September 2011].

(2011) 'Is red wine good for you? An holistic approach' [Online]. __Edge Wellness__. Available: [] [Accessed 5 November 2011]