Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Long telomeres of youth encourage optimism
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-4-2021
Publication Title
Journal of Experimental Biology
ISSN
1477-9145
Volume
224
Issue/No.
11
First Page
2
Last Page
3
Abstract
Optimism is a trait often associated with youth, with tough life experiences jading us towards pessimism as we age. The link between age and pessimism may originate from some of our smallest components: our chromosomes, which are capped by protective structures called telomeres. In humans and other animals, telomeres degrade as we age, increasing the risk of damage to the important genetic information that these caps defend, affecting an individual's health and lifespan. Anecdotal evidence also links age-related changes in behavior with telomere shortening, particularly greater pessimism. But whether this change is directly linked to activity down at the level of the telomere remains unclear. To better understand the link between telomeres and behavior, Felipe Espigares (Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal) and colleagues from institutions in Portugal, Spain and France dug into these ideas with genetically altered zebrafish.
NSUWorks Citation
Lauren E. Nadler. 2021. Long telomeres of youth encourage optimism .Journal of Experimental Biology , (11) : 2 -3. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/1180.
ORCID ID
0000-0001-8225-8344
DOI
10.1242/jeb.235424
Comments
© 2021. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd