Considerably more information is available on the web than can be discussed in a few pages. Stephen M. Pribut, D.P.M. is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center. The NIA conducts and supports biomedical, social, and behavioral research and public education on aging. A description of the research performed here is available. Buzzwords in the science of aging include telomere shortening, cellular senescence, cyclins, and progeroid syndromes.
Telomeres are repetitive base structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes.
In most eukaryotes, telomeres are essential portions of the chromosome. They protect chromosomes from degradation in the way the caps on shoelaces protect them from wear and tear. Their integrity allows the cell to determine if their chromosomal material is intact. A special enzyme called telomerase which is a telomere-specific reverse transcriptase is necessary for their maintenance. Telomeres may apparently both shrink and lengthen in a complexly regulated manner.