Essay on Theories on the Causes of Genetic Disorders in the Elderly

According to the text, __________ refers to biochemical or genetic changes that cause cell mutations and that account for predictable for age-related diseases.

Scientist have seen that telomerase expressing clones have no difference in karyotype but have a long lifespan by 20 doublings. With this research, cells have been seen to have a very youthful looking state for much longer. A last area of study is the hypothalamus of the brain. This part of the brain controls reproduction, growth, metabolism, and aging. This is where many of the age related diseases occur. The study of this area can lead to many advancements in age related diseases that can help people live longer. Though this area of study does not have many advancements it holds promising results. Though there have been numerous advancements, many people ask the question whether people need to live longer because of an already over populated Earth.

| the scientific study of the changes that occur in people as they age from conception until death

Be it through evolutionary selection over time or even death, nature finds a way to eliminate unwanted traits. This much being said, many of the costs of disease symptoms, though painful, are necessary evils. Many of these are accidental byproducts of genetic mutation, such as the occasional death linked to the anti-malarial genes predisposing favism or sickle-cell anemia. But there are no accidents in nature, these deaths prevent this mutation spreading into future gene pools. Occasionally over time genes may begin to clash within a creature's modern environment faster than the species can evolve, causing survival to become a challenge that could potentially kill off a species completely. Though its important to keep in mind not always are such drastic measures required- many disorders that are linked to genes provide trade-offs, as they may be the result of mismatches between ancestral conditions and the modern world, and as Moalem proves that disadvantages are necessary to evolve

Genetics is a field of science that has long been studied, but researchers and scientists have discovered a new branch that changes the way genetics and evolution has been looked at before. Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi skillfully describe this new subject in their book Super Genes. The book includes information on the history and discoveries of epigenetics, the changes the readers can make to unlock and harness the power of their genes, and the research and experiments that prove the benefits of those changes. Ultimately, the purpose of Super Genes is to inform the readers that they can control their own genes, despite preceding understandings of biological destinies, by making favorable lifestyle choices that leans towards the state of optimum health and well being.

Not only does natural selection operate at the level of the gene, it has also been found to operate at the level of the cell. Since different cell types within an individual have different rates of division, the morphology of organisms results from selection at the level of the cell (Lewontin, 1970). Natural selection is a strong force at the cellular level due to high levels of variation and therefore multiplication, and heredity which favors the cell lineages that are better adapted to leaving behind descendent cells (Smith, 1987). An example of natural selection operating at the level of the cell is shown by clonal selection theory of immunity where normal tissue repair and neoplastic growth are results of natural selection at the cellular level (Lewonith, 1970). Normal tissue repair occurs as a response to destruction of tissue, where certain cell types reproduce faster than normal in order to repair the tissue, then returns to a normal rate after repair (Lewonith, 1970).

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary death means the end of life. Death it self is not a disease but as a result of disease themselves. You can cure the disease that can cause death but not death itself. According to NPR “the case that the average human lifespan has increased dramatically of late thanks to the engineering of sewage systems, antibiotics, and major progress in the prevention and treatment of many diseases.” (NPR, Goodenough, 2010) So this passage shown by NPR is saying due to the advance of technology we have made the human lifespan longer, but due to that we found out that there is a “120-year natural limit, just as there are natural limits on the life spans of dogs and redwoods.” (NPR. Goodenough,

the place of old damage cells as they die out(1). But as time goes by, mutations can control our genes

Secondly, advanced age is a risk factor because the human body’s immune system deteriorates with age making it

Damage to proteins and lipids as well as DNA has been shown to increase during aging in numerous organisms comprise of Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, mice, rat and humans. (Golden et al. 2002; Hamilton et al. 2001; Sohal et al. 1993; Stadtman 2001; Yan&Sohal 1998). Reduction in antioxidant defense system or significant increment in oxidative stress has resulted in poor lifespan (Ishii et al. 1998; Melov et al. 1999; Moskovitz et al. 2001). With a growing body of evidences towards the oxidative stress theory, an exact relationship between accumulation of reactive species or oxidative stress theory and aging process especially cognitive deterioration has not yet been establish and strongly proven. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of cognitive decline is likely to be important in developing effectiveness intervention for a better

For instance, one theory about how mutations affect ageing is the somatic mutation theory. The somatic mutation theory indicates that a vital part of ageing is determined by the consequences of our genes after it has been inherited. Its ideology refers that when mutations occur in somatic cells (all body cells except reproductive cells), it would lead to a substantial functional failure of them, which results in a decreased efficiency of organs and eventually death. One other theory is the mutation accumulation theory which was proposed by Sir Peter Medawar in 1952. He had suggested that in later life, when mutations accumulate, they cannot be selected against in view of the fact that these genes would have already been passed onto the offspring,

In particular telomere length has become a required biomarker for anyone analyzing the effect of and variables into human fitness. Telomere length has been related to obesity, bone demineralization and other aging indexes, including high risk of premature death and development of cancer. It has been found believable that the presences of short telomeres trigger cell senescence in vivo, in consequence affecting organ and tissue function. Their observation strongly support that telomere shorting is a major cause of cell senescence in organs with high proliferative potential, detectable in aged human individuals. Which causes the degeneration of organs and bones that lead to the age related diseases that are shorting the lifespan of humans. Telomere length has become an excellent predictive measure for some of these age related disease because of its close correlation to the

There are around 6,000 known genetic disorders (Genetic Disease Foundation). The symptoms of these disorders range from memory loss to blindness, physical abnormalities and more. A process known as gene editing was created in an attempt to do away with genetic disorders. Gene editing was named “Science Magazine 's Breakthrough of the Year 2015” due to its ease and high accessibility (ScienceDirect). It works by using CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) and Cas9 to make changes in the genes of cells. Francisco Mojica discovered CRISPR in 1993 at the University of Alicante in Spain (Broad Institute). It works by adding, changing or even removing DNA bases (Your Genome). Alexander Bolotin discovered Cas9 in 2005 at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Broad Institute). Cas9 is an enzyme that “acts as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ that can cut two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed” (YourGenome). “The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been used to correct genetic mutations and for replacing entire genes, opening up a world of possibilities for the treatment of genetic diseases” (ScienceDirect). This makes CRISPR-Cas9 a new and revolutionary technology with a wide range of potential applications, and almost everybody will be affected by gene editing in one way or another. The scientists currently working on making human gene editing a reality, is only one group of

From generation to generation, the struggle for resources favors individuals with some variations over others and change the frequency of the traits within the population. This process can be referred to as natural selection. The traits that have an advantage to individuals who produce more offspring are called adaption. For natural selection to be able to operate on a trait, this trait must obtain an advantage in the competition for resources. If one of the requirements does not happen, then that trait does not experience natural selection. Some traits could change by some other evolutionary mechanisms that could of been discovered ever since Darwin’s time period. Natural Selection is operated by comparative disadvantage. Around the twentieth century, Darwin’s mechanisms integrated genetics. This can allow us to analyze natural selection reproduction

However, when we are getting older, the process slow down, we keep losing the total amount of cells so finally die.