Retrotransposons: How genetic parasites make us age quicker

Genetic parasites referred to as retrotransposons turn into extra lively as we age, and an animal examine suggests this may occasionally set off immune responses that shorten our lifespans

By Michael Le Web page

Genetic “parasites” referred to as retrotransposons turn into extra lively in all types of animals as they age, and this elevated exercise shortens lifespans. Now, an animal examine has proven this ageing impact isn’t a results of mutations to the genome as beforehand thought, however may very well be a results of the parasite exercise triggering an immune response.

Understanding precisely how these chunks of parasitic DNA shorten lifespans may result in methods to increase human lives. “But this is very far down the road,” says Blair Schneider on the Albert Einstein …