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Has anyone read this?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1187579,00.html
To my eyes, this is a potentially huge development. Does anyone know more about this? How credible is his claims?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1187579,00.html
Stindl argues that the protective caps on the end of chromosomes, called telomeres, provide the answer. Like plastic tips on the end of shoelaces, all eukaryotic species have telomeres on the end of their chromosomes to prevent instability. However, cells seem to struggle to copy telomeres properly when they divide, and very gradually the telomeres become shorter. Stindl's idea is that there is also a tiny loss of telomere length between each generation, mirroring the individual ageing process.
Once a telomere becomes critically short it causes diseases related to chromosomal instability, or limited tissue regeneration, such as cancer and immunodeficiency. "The shortening of telomeres between generations means that eventually the telomeres become critically short for a particular species, causing outbreaks of disease and finally a population crash," says Stindl. "It could explain the disappearance of a seemingly successful species, like Neanderthal man, with no need for external factors such as climate change."
To my eyes, this is a potentially huge development. Does anyone know more about this? How credible is his claims?
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