A new article in
Medical News Today discusses why marine animals may help to shed light on the aging process. Many marine animals reproduce asexually and have exceptionally good health. Many of these animals have active and larger amounts of the enzyme telomerase,
which has been linked to the aging process. Mice lacking the enzyme have been shown to age more quickly as opposed to mice with larger amounts of the enzyme. Some marine life, such as sea squirts, rejuvenate themselves by activating telomerase. Helen Nilsson Sköld at the University of Gothenburg is studying the aging and reproductive processes of sea squirts and starfish because their genes are closely related to those of humans.
A major concern with marine life mentioned above is that because asexual production is utilized genetic diversity is limited, and with changes to the environment such as global warming concern is cultivated for the lives of asexually reproducing marine life.
with today's public, that is so concerned about appearance and aging, finding a method to activate our own telomerase would probably be a big deal. although i have a bad feeling that people would gladly risk the lack of genetic diversity of many sea creatures for a chance to look younger. that being said, i can't say i completely support the idea of using too many of these creatures considering that they may be facing a problem of keeping themselves alive.
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