As far as I know, the DNA sequence becomes shorter every time a cell divides. A
ID: 36680 • Letter: A
Question
As far as I know, the DNA sequence becomes shorter every time a cell divides.
A shorter sequence results in information loss and aging characteristics.
As a countermeasure, shouldn't one stay young and healthy at least longer, if the DNA in a cell is changed with a "better" DNA (from years ago... let's say your DNA was extracted with the age of 20 and you reinsert it every 10 years or so)?
If this is true, then (as for today's technology)
- is it already possible to perfectly reproduce the DNA? (I only found articles about XNA)
- is it possible to easily replace the DNA in all human cells? (I found articles about bacteria inserting pieces of DNA into human cells)
Explanation / Answer
There are other issues than just DNA. Systemic failure is system-wide, and probably most of the issues are still yet undiscovered. Good news I guess if you want to be a researcher in this exciting field! As for DNA-ends, read up on Telomerase. As for DNA copying learn about PCR and sequencing methods. Generally speaking, reverse transcription can be dangerous. Please see many of diseases we are having a hard-time solving, which often use these pathways. Seriously avoid that one. Not everything in DNA is used by the organism at any given time, and some information is elsewhere. Moreover, what if we use DNA as DATA storage besides blueprint information? Hint: while the jury may be still out on Neurons, environmental factors may be passed as epigenetic traits by not just primary shape such as DNA methylation but by obstructing access via conformation and histone wrapping. Not even mentioning mitochondrial dna or prenatal development factors.
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