Genetics is a hot topic because humans want to live longer. From the discovery of DNA structure by Dr James Watson to the completion of the Human Genome Project, we have put a lot of effort into a series of codes.

However, there is a hypothesis about the relationship between lifespan and telomeres (the physical ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes).

The theory is: the longer the telomere, the more times the cell divides. Therefore, we can live longer. One of the best examples is the cloned sheep Dolly, which died at the same time as her mother.

Scientists explained that when the mother of Dolly grew old, the telomere inside the cell was becoming shorter and shorter. When the parent cell was cloned, the rest of the telomere had been shortened. So Dolly couldn’t live longer than her mother.

You might not believe in the magic of chromosomes and DNA. There are many cases where people die even with a long telomere. Some people can live a very long life, even with a short telomere. There are paradoxes in this hypothesis.

Time will show us the answer. We might find a scientific way to live longer, but is that necessary?

 

Ho Yiu Cheong (7B)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South China Morning Post (6th October,2004)