Dr. Andrews is striving to succeed to unravel the puzzle of aging. At his research company, Sierra Science, hundreds of thousands of substances inducing telomerase has already been found. Unfortunately, one that assures immortality has yet to be discovered. The question is what will happen when our cells turn into an immortal state?
A few years ago it was thought to be impossible to discover telomerase inducers. That is why Sierra Science is amidst the sole companies in search for these immortal life extenders. The first telomerase inducing drug was developed since more than two years ago. People doubted its capacity but came back surprised to its revolutionary outcomes. However, very few people understand why it works.
Now more than 39 categories of telomerase inducing chemical and drugs have been released. They have also proven to enhance cell functioning by 2 percent. Thus, making these cells immortal seems not to be too far-away. The only obstacle is to figure out ways to enhance the potency of these chemicals. It will, nevertheless, take more than 12 years to move these drugs to the market as they will have to pass FDA clinical trials.
Dr. Andrews believe it will be easier to enter the pet market.
At the University of Texas at South-western & the University of Edinburgh it has already been shown that cats, horses and dogs do also have shortening telomeres. However, rodents and mice do not have them. It is believed that telomerase inducer will enter the pet market well before the human medical market. There will be several pet owners ready to extend the life span of their beloved pets but those who love rabbits and mice will have to wait for other solutions, as both mice and rabbits age through other processes.
A very recent research that Sierra Science did co-author with Mike West at BioTime Corporation explains that induced pluripotent “stem cells” have very short telomeres. It was found if cells from elders were taken and then converted into pluripotent stem cells once they were re-introduced into a person they would already be old. The telomeres would, in other words, be short, this means that telomerase inducer could work well for this market segment.
However, this is not it. There are a dozen of other research markets where the use of telomerase inducers would be highly beneficial. This includes medicine to fight disease like progeria; kids age rapidly prior to their twenties. Dr. Andrew says that his company is motivated to address that disease, although knowing that there won’t be much money to be made. It would be highly motivating to find a cure for progeria, but it should be noted that there are merely 15 kids in the whole world who suffer from that disease in a given time.
It is believed that telomerase inducer could help in enhancing the immune system of people with AIDS. The problem with AIDS virus is that it is within the immune cells, and therefore, it does rapidly shorten the telomeres. The depletion of telomeres does weaken the immune system causing the death of immune cells.
Rita Effros, an immunologist at UCLA is currently studying whether telomerase inducers can help in sustaining the immune system. This is being done with Geron’s Telomerase inducing substances.
Telomerase inducers are providing solutions for not only immortality but healthiness at a wider agenda.
To be clear, the goal is to make us healthier and not older. An individual of the age of 140 years should have the right to feel as healthy as someone of 24 years. So the objective is to prolong the health-span and not only life-span.
There are more than 100 possible diseases that are associated with telomere shortening. It includes:
• Macular Degeneration
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cancer
• Osteoarthritis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Osteoporosis
This shows that if ever telomeres would not really be associated with lifespan (immortality), it would prolong the life span since it would reduce the precursors for death such as cancer and heart disease. A radical improvement would promote health-span and life-span.
Dr. Andrews is highly committed and devotes much time to his research work so that he can enjoy an extended lifespan once aging is cured.
In the recent years, lots of information related to physical, mental and good health has been associated to assure that your telomeres remain long. For example, running is good for your telomeres. On the other hand, being unhealthy induces free radical and accelerates the process of “telomere shortening”. In other words, as “cells are damaged“” cell division is induced, and that will reduce the length of your telomeres.
There were two major studies that showed that athletes had longer telomeres than sedentary individuals. Being obese, lacking omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins did also negatively affects telomeres length.
On the psychological part, it has been shown that mental stress induces the shortening of telomeres as well. There have been great papers published by Elizabether Blackburn, explaining why caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients suffer from shortened telomeres. The reason is related to the amount of stress. This suggests that meditation can in somehow reduce the shortening of telomeres.
Mental attitudes such as being optimists, realist or pessimist do also influence telomeres. People who are pessimists have shorter telomeres. So if you ask someone whether they think they will live to a hundred, and they answer “NO” they might be right as their telomeres are bound to be shorter. Those who say “YES”, have a higher potential to live to the hundred-mark and above.
So in a summary, mediation, exercise, diet and a stress-free lifestyle are key strategies to assure longer telomeres. It is important to assure that a balance is well established so that one does not run too much, as it can itself induce body stress. – Everything is good in moderation too much can kill you -
We should not forget that antioxidants are very important. Berries and other fruits do significantly help to sustain the length of telomeres. In simple words, keep your telomeres long, and you will be less prone to a dozen of health pathologies.
Read More on Andrews’s Aim is to Be Immortal: Part 1
Main Source: Wellness Coach
Sun, Aug 1, 2010
Anti Aging, Immortality