Solved, the Puzzle of how Cells Age

As an undergraduate Pharmacy major pursuing my Pharm-D, I hope that my experience can shed some light on the situation.

While this is an intriguing find, I'm not sure it downplays the role of telomeres or dodges the issue of cancer as this article seems to portray.

In a nutshell, the scientific study published here shows that cells will automatically damage themselves when they detect enough DNA damage so that they will stop dividing and passing on that damage. In a not-so-smart way, they do this even if the damage is technically reversible. The theory goes that a drug given to stop this process will prevent cells from damaging themselves. In turn, they will continue to divide and remain "young."

At the same time though, telomeres would be needed to keep the cell "eternally" young and able to divide well past its 30-50 division limit. For more info on telomeres, see my other article: http://rsloan.newsvine.com/_news/2007/12/23/1181819-want-to-live-forever-activating-your-telomeres-may-be-your-best-bet

Ultimately, the research here shows that a drug could stop cells from automatically damaging themselves when damage accumulates. But this process is still an important checkpoint that prevents many cells from becoming cancerous and passing on their damaged DNA. The study even notes that such a therapy would pose an increased risk for developing cancer.

A true anti-aging drug therapy will involve the following features

• Preventing cells from damaging themselves, and limiting the amount of damage done to them.
• Continuously restoring telomere's length to ensure that cells could divide forever.
• Suppressing and killing any cancerous cells that come about
• Identifying and removing dysfunctional cells to prevent their accumulation.
• Promoting cellular repair mechanisms and replacing damaged DNA segments to ensure that healthy DNA is always being used and passed on.

If the above goals can be accomplished (and believe me, they will) then it will be possible to make someone not only live indefinitely, but stay young indefinitely.