GENETICS
In the 1960's Leonard Hayflick discovered that aging occurs on a cellular level. Cells divide and replicate over the course of our lives, but eventually loses the ability to divide and repair itself. The loss of this ability to divide is known as cellular senescence. One possible cause of aging is the degradation of telomeres, which are the pieces that caps the end of each chromosome. As the cell continues to divide, the telomeres become shorter and eventually become so short that a cell cannot reproduce anymore
HDL (known as the "good cholesterol") has the main purpose of transporting LDL (known as the "bad cholesterol") throughout our blood vessels. People with larger amounts of HDL in their body have higher chances of living longer because of the decreased risk of dying due to cardiovascular failures.
LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle decisions also play a large role in aging. An individuals decisions concerning things in their life such as exercise, healthy eating, stress, hygiene, health, and drug abuse can all impact how quickly (or slowly) they age.
WORKS CITED
CBS News Staff. (2009, September 12). Resveratrol Video. Retrieved May 9, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWkRN-0KjeM&feature=player_embedded
Nova Staff. (2007, January 9). Aging. Retrieved May 9, 2010 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3401/01.html
(2002, September 16). Genetics of Aging. Retrieved May 23, 2009 from http://web.riverdeep.net/current/2002/09/091602t_oldflies.jhtml
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