Most genetic association studies examine the genetic material found in
somatic cells, often overlooking mitochondrial DNA (mDNA). This DNA, like DNA of the Y sex chromosome,
is inhertied without any recombination such that it is identical between the
offspring and the parent. Mitochondrial
DNA is preserved through the maternal line, however (versus the paternal line
in the case of the Y chromosome). How
much attention does mDNA deserve as far as predicting inheritable traits? The aging process is indubitably determined
by a variety of factors beyond genetic makeup.
How much weight do you give the disocveries of the study discussed?
mDNA should be a focus of genetic research as it is a reliable source of information in regards to certain heritable traits. It's actually surprising that it is not more aggressively researched. The fact that mDNA is preserved from mother to child, indicates that it can hold a lot of answers about how a person ages. The study presented in this article strengthens this argument in its findings. The seemingly direct relationship between mDNA, aging, and antioxidants proves very important in halting or slowing the aging process in mice. This could be extended to humans as we continually look for ways to live longer and healthier.
ReplyDeleteThe correlation Larsson, Olsen, Ross, and Hoffer found about mDNA is simply astounding. Although this seems like a relatively new discovery I am interested at how it will progress. Aging has always been something natural in our lives and I am mostly interested on how these researchers define aging in what sense.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I also agree with Robbio about pushing more effort into researching mDNA because mDNA can possibly be a great indicator of how a person ages. If mDNA can show correlations of risk of inheriting diseases, this discovery can be a dynamic change into the future of genetic testing.
Finally, out of the whole article I am skeptical about the usage of antioxidants. It would be amazing if antioxidants is the 'fountain of youth' but I wouldn't give it much validity without more findings in the results of the research.
I am surprised to hear that this is somewhat new underdeveloped research. I have always thought that the aging process was one that we get from our parents. I feel like people are always looking at someones parents and making comments about how well the parents age and therefore the kid is lucky because their process will be similar. In terms of the paper, I didnt feel the information was particularly compelling and di not really have much of an effect on my opinion of mDNA testing for aging. I think it should be something that is offered for people if they would like to know about that, but otherwise I agree with the comment above mine; it is more important to focus on genetic testing for disease. Also, the weight that should be put on this should correlate with the treatment available. If there is a way to adjust and treat the things possibly found after doing the testing then it is more justified to test then if there is no treatment available.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested by this article because while I have always heard that aging depends on genetics, I did not know that it was a proven fact. I think that mDNA could be very important in predicting heritable traits and this article tells us exactly why. The fact that mDNA is preserved through the maternal line should be enough reason to study it's effects extensively. I understand that the process of aging is influenced by environmental as well as biological factors, but it seems to me, through reading this article, that mDNA plays a larger role in aging then originally thought. The information learned from studying mDNA passed from mother to child influences the aging process, as well as other traits/characteristics, could be very beneficial to the future of science.
ReplyDeleteThere should definitely be a considerable focus on mitochondrial DNA when investigating the effects of inherited genes on the aging process in women. From the findings in the article, it is clear that mDNA plays a crucial role in the passing of genetic information from the maternal side without recombination. This means that additional discoveries could be made in an effort to learn more about the possibilities of enhancing and extending quality of life through inheritance. Indeed, there are various factors outside of genetics which influence outcomes for each individual, but having knowledge about these genetic factors helps gauge the effects of these other potential factors. mDNA is a fascinating component of genetic research, and it should be examined more closely, especially when considering possible outcomes for offspring.
ReplyDeleteThis article is intriguing, yet leaves room for further research in order to solidify the idea that mDNA information is linked to the aging process of women.
I wouldn’t find it surprising that research on mitochondrial DNA is being emphasized, especially given its importance in maintaining the cell by providing energy. In terms of inheritable traits, I think it would be wise to carefully analyze mitochondrial DNA given that we know it is inherited completely through the maternal line. Diseases that are associated with mutations in mDNA have already been identified – for example, Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). This shows mDNA deserves attention in terms of inheritable traits and diseases.
ReplyDeleteAging is a complicated biological process affected by a variety of factors. It is clear that the study discussed is valid and note-worthy (published in a reliable and prestigious journal), but in order to appropriately weight the discoveries in this study, I would want to read the original article. As others have stated, the prospective studies on the mice would also help in solidifying the connection between aging and mDNA. The more difficult task I think would be linking this information to other research regarding aging – for example the role of telomeres and telomerase, the connection to cancer, etc – and seeing how or even if any information fits together.
I was really surprised to find that mDNA has not been researched more considering that the "hot topic" in medicine lately is how to stay young and healthy. I think these findings can be extremely useful to learn more about the aging process but I also think that it would be important to focus on illnesses that are more deadly. I think researching more into mRNA could just tell us things we already know, like don't smoke, eat healthy, exercise regularly, etc. We should be utilizing our resources to look into cancers and genetic illnesses, which have a more lethal effect and how to prevent them. However, mRNA could tell us something we don't know and could give us a medical breakthrough so it definitely should a consideration for research.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how DNA that is not directly in our genome can affect us. Although the mitochondrial DNA does not affect the way we express our inheritable traits, it does affect how we age, according to the article. The studies being done to determine how to "upregulate mitochondrial function" can help maintain healthy cells. However, due to environmental factors, I believe that mDNA will not be equivalent to aging solutions we have today such as botox. It would still be beneficial if we eventually further understand how mDNA affects our aging process.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that since scientists have discovered maternally inherited mutations that play a role in the aging process that we should certainly give some attention to mDNA. This is a fascinating discovery that may lead to new scientific information. I do, however, think that in terms of genetic science overall this is not a strikingly important discovery. To me, aging is a natural process that everyone will go through and shouldn't necessarily be considered something that needs to be fixed. I understand this is a hype in todays society to look younger longer, but I don't think we really need to dedicate tons of scientific resources and time to this unless it could prove to be beneficial in other areas aside from cosmetic appearances. If we could learn ways to alter other inherited mutations from this, then it would certainly be worth more time and resources.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that there has not been more research about mDNA considering our society focuses on youth and beauty. I think we should research mDNA more because it can possibly show us the human aging process. If mDNA is identical between the offspring and the parent, it allows for a greater detail of inheritable traits to be known. This is can be very useful in determining diseases. mDNA deserves a lot of attention because if we know the aging process, then we can understand risk factors better and live healthier lives.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that these findings are significant. The fact that mRNA could play a much greater role in the aging process than we ever thought could open doors further research regarding epigenetics. According to Dr. Hoffer, various dietary manipulations and drugs can up-regulate mitochondrial function and reduce mitochondrial toxicity. Again, the interplay between genetics and epigenetics raises questions about how much control we have over our genome. I’m interested the future outcomes of this research. Will antioxidants be the secret to increasing our lifespan?
ReplyDeleteI found this article not very informing and dull. From my understanding of the article, its propose was to inform the reader that mitochondrial DNA is involved with aging. Honestly, I am not surprised and the article does not go into detail about how this discovery will impact health. It simply suggests that therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial DNA can affect the aging timeline, which also does not seem that revolutionary. Also the title, “Mother's Genes Can Impact Aging Process,” is obvious for anyone who knows what genes are. There is a common notion that you will get wrinkles around the same time your mother gets wrinkles or that you will start getting gray hairs at the same age your mother does. Overall the article was structured poorly and was not that informative. Although, I did find it very interesting and surprising that mitochondrial DNA changes more frequently than DNA found in the nucleus, but I honestly wonder if that can be verified in other research.
ReplyDeleteOur evolving knowledge of DNA and the human body has significant implications for the health of future generations. From assuming that "one gene makes one protein" to now understanding that human cells actually contain more than one type of DNA, I'm sure that there are more mysteries to uncover within our own bodies. I believe that mDNA deserves significant attention in terms of understanding heritable traits; it would be foolish to only study nucleus DNA and ignore the implications of our mitochondrial DNA. With that being said, we can't place too much emphasis on DNA in guiding the course of our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that we are currently watching in class currently relates to this. Joanna is balancing the discovery of her deleterious mutation with the knowledge that there are steps she can take to completely minimize her risk of breast cancer. While the genetics create a grim forecast, it is not necessarily a death sentence for Joanna in particular. The plight of the women that Joanna features is quite tragic, but we must look towards the future and understand that finding optimal health will come in understanding genetics, as well as the medicines and lifestyles that can remedy any genetic forecasts.
I agree with what Sarah said above. Someone (I don't remember who exactly) once told me that looking at how your mother was aging and how fast she aged etc was going to be around the same for you when you start aging. So this article didn't come as that much of a surprise to me. It was nice to see the scientific proof of such a statement though.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked the article to be more specific -- what exactly is "damaged DNA"? Is it DNA with mutations? How much impact does the mDNA have on our aging process? Do certain mutations have more impact than other mutations? Which specific mutations?
The article also says "that therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial function may influence the time course of aging." I find it interesting that things such as diet could regulate mitochondrial function and toxicity. However, I am still somewhat skeptical -- I would like to see more research backing these claims up.
I thought that it was interesting that this article did not address what aging processes were affected due to mitochondrial DNA mutations. Really the only thing stated was that we age more quickly if the mitochondrial DNA we inherit from our mothers contains mutations. It does not discuss how much more quickly, or if there is any sort of onset time difference for aging signs. The article does mention that even small amounts of mutations can have adverse effects, notably on the brain. However, again, this statement is not really defined or defended. Does this also link with aging and have implications such as early onset dementia? Because there are so many variables not discussed in this article, I would have to say that I do not give much weight to the discoveries therewith discussed. More information would have to be gathered in order to make a better conclusion about the role that mitochondrial DNA plays in the aging process.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very important that mDNA be more fully researched. Since it is maternally inherited without changes in the genome, scientists have something constant with which they can work. Being able to compare the mDNA throughout generations and keeping track of the different mutations could tell us a lot about what certain mutations do and what may have been the cause of the mutations.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, that fact that mDNA is implicated in aging makes it that much more important to increase levels of research surrounding it. Even though I do believe that whatever impact mDNA has in aging is a very small one, I think that research is still critical. I believe that there are so many things that effect aging, including the environment, that the true impact of mDNA will end up being one of many.
Research in this field is imperative and they should continue it to better help us understand aging.
mDNA is a crucial part of our cell system and like many other organelles, they need to constantly be replaced and renewed because of the damaging environment we're exposed to everyday. Our DNA is constantly trying to compensate for the environment we constantly expose to them including UV sun rays, chemicals, and processed foods. As a result, I feel that although the mDNA does impact our aging, it is not so much that it defines the time we pass away. This essentially stems back to the nature vs. nurture debate and that there is no one side to the debate. Our lives and bodies are a combination of our genes that have been passed down from our parents as well as the environment we are exposed to. In a sense, our genes do affect us, however we should not depend on them for specific answers seeing as how we live in a world where medical technology has advanced so far that it is in fact extending lives and curing diseases that we would not be able to have overcome if we were to pass away 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI am now convinced that mDNA is also critical alongside with environmental factors in influencing our aging process. The discovery definitely deserves some attention, as it could potentially increase the lifespan of others significantly. However I personally believe that attention should still be focused on preventing and maintaining ones own mitochondrial DNA. DNA inherited from parents are outside of our locus of control. By finding methods that maintain mitochondrial DNA in mothers, it could also influence the children of the mothers and indirectly increase their lifespan as well. Prevention is a cheaper more effective method as opposed to directly modifying ones inherited parental DNA.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the mDNA deserves a lot more research as it can determine how a person ages or predicts the inheritable traits from the mother to her offspring. As said in the article, “The study also shows the low levels of mutated mDNA can have developmental effects and cause deformities of the brain.” If we can research more on inheriting susceptible traits, we can maybe prevent the risks of certain diseases. However, I agree with Nicole that other factors such as diet, exercise, smoking, play an important role in determining how a person ages (and not based solely on the mDNA itself). That is why I believe more research should be done on mDNA so that we can keep people healthy.
ReplyDeleteWith the information discovered in this study, I would say that mDNA deserves much more attention in predicting inheritable traits. I think that comparing the mDNA and DNA in somatic cells would be effective because then we could see what sequences have a correlation and could be related to the same outcome.
ReplyDeleteOf course the aging process is due to environmental factors in addition to genetic makeup. I think the discovery of the important role mDNA should be given a lot of weight as this could help scientists to understand the aging process in depth. This new find could also help with genetic counseling and create a new set of tests especially for mDNA and what mutations a specific person’s holds, and what they could potentially leave them at risk for. Screening for mutations in mDNA can be a type of preventative care that will help reduce unfortunate, unexpected outcomes.
It seems that mDNA is an underrated or underexamined area of research. Being able to predict inheritable traits from the mother, discovering factors involved in aging are both intriguing topics to learn more about. With more knowledge on mDNA, we can trace and keep track of mutations being passed on from generation to generation. The article however, seems more interested in the aging process and how mDNA affects it. Probably more interesting for people who want to live longer/ deteriorate slower, but in all honesty I'm more interested in spending money on research for saving peoples lives, not on keeping people young. Overall I don't hold too much attention to these findings.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty interesting that mDNA has such a big affect on the way we age, and it is not being discussed or researched more. With the information from this article, I don’t know the extent to which mDNA can predict inheritable traits. It discusses how aging can be affected, and how there can be developmental effects as well as deformities in the brain. I think it is an important area to explore because it does present with some possibilities for increased knowledge, and there are a lot of unknowns about its control on the rest of people’s genomes and overall lifetime health. I give quite a bit of weight to these discoveries, but I think that they should be investigated a little more. As with many early discoveries, they are more surface level, and I think that there should be additional research to prove these findings and explore more applications of the findings. It’s also really interesting that mitochondrial DNA changes more than DNA in the nucleus, and that the changes in mitochondrial DNA has a lot to do with the aging process, and the creation of energy. It would be interesting to see if there can be applications in modern medicine that can increase life expectancy.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that our DNA influences not just aging, but many things. Even more obviously, this DNA comes from our parents. The point of the findings is that the mDNA we get from our mothers was the greatest indicator and contributor of aging. Given, this study was done on mice so I shouldn't say "we", but it's to be extrapolated.
ReplyDeleteThe argument is made that since mDNA mutates more, and at a faster rate, than other types of DNA, mDNA will cause aging earlier, giving it primary influence on that aging process. But then Jaime Ross says, "[t]he study also shows that low levels of mutated mDNA can have developmental effects and cause deformities of the brain." I really wish they had given this finding more focus. If this is legitimate, then there goes the idea of making sure our mother's mDNA has limited mutations for our benefit.
As always, I am surprised to see how much genomics intersects with other fields of science and I wouldn't have expected to read about the aging process in our genes. There is definitely potential for this to be a new and exciting field of research, especially with the baby boomer generation aging. I am not sure anyone can say how much weigh our genetics give towards the aging process because this is new research. I would have to see more studies to truly believe in these findings.
ReplyDeleteI was quite surprised about the topics presented in this article. I did not know that changes in the mitochondrial DNA played a significant role in aging. I was also shocked to find that an identical copy of mitochondrial DNA was passed down from the mother’s side. To think that the combination of these two factors could speed up the process of aging was beyond me. I find it particularly interesting that the researchers suggest therapeutic treatments like dietary manipulations and drugs can influence and slow down the aging process. I think that these are relatively important findings. Since this is fairly new to me, I don’t know if I can be fully on board with it unless I am able to see more results from the research, or more studies conducted. However, since the study was promising in mice, I don’t discount the potential effects that it could have on humans.
ReplyDeleteAs far as mDNA in the question of inheritable traits, I think that it can play a significant role. Mutations can occur in any form of DNA whether it is in the mitochondria or not. Since the mDNA is a direct copy of the mother’s mDNA, the same mutations will be present in the offspring. If studies lean towards the process of aging being sped up due to mutations in the maternal mDNA, I don’t believe that it is ridiculous to think that other mutations can cause different conditions to be inherited. I think we can possibly look to the mDNA to predict inheritable traits. However, this depends on the validity of the current research.
It is quite interesting that maternal mitochondrial DNA can strongly affect how quickly we age. Attention should certainly be paid to mDNA, as information from mDNA research can be used to improve people's lives. Given these findings, I am certain there will be quite a lot of research done on mDNA in the future, as there seems to be potential for implementing "therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial function, which may influence the time course of aging". Such interventions have broad implications for human lifespan. They may be used to preserve or extend our lives. If this study is valid and reliable, we can give some weight to the discoveries in the article. However, I would like to see other studies that have similar findings before I fully buy into all the information in the article.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising that mDNA hasn't taken more spotlight. Using mDNA to determine heritable traits seems beneficial especially if there are things people want to screen for that are knowingly dominant on their mothers side of the family.Also, as noted in the article, mDNA should be given more attention if there is a connection between mDNA and aging. Although there are other factors that contribute to the aging process it is a good idea to build on findings that can potentially unveil a deeper knowledge about the aging process. There are so many surgeries, injections, and creams targeted towards women who are combating the aging process so more mDNA discoveries may lead to better knowledge about how to delay this process.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with some of my peers that the research is interesting and that mDNA should be studied more for various reasons, my concern is with the concentration on aging. First, a concentration on further medicalizing aging can have serious repercussions such as perpetuating ageism. Also, if research continues to concentrate on the mutations that contribute to aging, I imagine eventually research will try to "correct" these mutations. But what exactly are we trying to correct? Do we expect to become immortal? If we "correct" these problems, will it extend the lifespan? Should this be a goal? Our health care system already spends most of it's money in seemingly futile end of life health care and I'm not sure aging is really the most appropriate area to study. However I'm sure that studying mDNA can be very informative in some other areas of research.
ReplyDeleteThis article introduced me to some interesting information that I wasn't aware of. I knew aging was inherited, but I didn’t know it was a maternal gene or stemmed from a mutation. This is a really fascinating discovery. As more and more research is done, I am curious to see if and how much the aging process can be altered based on lifestyle changes. For example, say your mother was a smoker, which resulted in her own mutation. Then, if she passed it on to you, but you lived a very healthy, non-smoking lifestyle, would you be able to counter the effects of the mutation? This discovery along with more research will shed light on aging, a process that some people spend so much money trying to prevent or make less apparent. It will be interesting to see how future studies look deeper into mDNA. Will this mutation have a measurable effect on the lifespan, speeding up the aging process resulting in a shorter life? Could this discovery help us understand evolution and mortality trends as well?
ReplyDeleteI think that mRNA needs to be a bigger focus in terms of genomic research. Even before this article, I heard much about genetic mitochondrial mutations being passed down from mother to offspring. This new discovery connecting that to aging has so much potential in my opinion. I think that aging is the one human disease that seems impossible to prevent or aid or cure. Delving deeper into research of mRNA in terms of its link to age could yield knowledge about how we could alter the aging process! That sounds amazing to me. This would change life as we know it.
ReplyDeletemRNA should be studied in terms of its normal "life" of mutation and degradation, and also in terms of how epigenetics affect its "life." Finding the genetic component of aging would be a truly amazing discovery. And this research has provided the first step.
I had never heard about the impact of mDNA and its focuses on aging. I do believe that it is interesting to be able to target these mutations and study their impact on aging. However, I am skeptical on the extent to which we should be focusing on this finding. I think that aging is a part of life and if we are able to control aging, people could get carried away. This makes it seem as if aging is a bad thing and that we should label it as something wrong. I think that focus should stay on the subject to better understand their affect but I am worried about people wanting their mDNA to be altered down the line so that they can slower their aging processes. With all of the beauty creams and makeup out there for people to slow down the look of wrinkles externally, I cannot even imagine the lengths people would go through to have things changed internally.
ReplyDeleteBased on the article, it seems that mDNA has a large and important effect on the human genome. Since the mitochondrion is the cell's "power plant", it makes sense that mDNA would influence the process of aging. I believe more research should be done on this topic, as this could possibly lead to humans living a longer and healthier life. I am very interested to how the process of aging can be altered as more and more research is done on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI think that the discoveries done by these studies are an interesting start for this genetic research. I believe that much more has to be done before they can truly make definitive connections, as the article says that the tests have only been completed on mice thus far. I do agree that the aging process ultimately takes a lot of factors into account, both genetic and environmental. The stressors in your life can play a big role in the aging process of a person especially in conjunction with your genetic makeup. I do not think that one specific thing determines how a person will age but rather how al of the factors work together. Obviously, the more they are likely to be pre-exposed due to their genetic makeup, the more the aging process will be effected. I think more research should definitely be done in this area.
ReplyDeleteStudies such as these do have their place in society and their place in making advancements in bettering the health of the population. However, from a practical standpoint, it's important not to invest much in these types of discoveries. Not yet, anyways. Something like mDNA can play a key role in the aging process. Excellent. However, when you have a population that lives on fast food, smokes, doesn't exercise nearly enough, in addition to other poor lifestyle habits, taking antioxidants won't get you to live to 100 years old. So maybe for the few people who have impeccable lifestyle habits (sadly, I can't say I'm one of them), these advancements don't have any practical application. So I feel like we'll just be keeping these discoveries in our back pocket until we live in a society where they can actually make a difference. Judging by the progression of society in the last century, that day may never come.
ReplyDeleteAs Michelle has mentioned, this is an issue that deals with nature vs. nurture. We have explored this topic before, and I had stated the importance of both of these factors in development. Therefore, I believe that it is important for us to pay attention to mDNA. Both nature and nurture are important in predicting traits, so mDNA should receive some attention. After all, this is inherited from the maternal line, and it gives us a sense of the starting line from which we start the developmental race. This mDNA will not only determine how susceptible we are to external epigenetic factors, but it will also provide us with a sketch of the approximate aging timeline we have inherited from our families.
ReplyDeleteThis study gives a comprehensive view of how mDNA affects us. Therefore, we should give it a substantial amount of weight, as it does not seem to be biased. Not only does the study mention the detrimental effects of mutated mDNA, but it also mentions the detrimental effects of too few mutated mDNA. It is interesting how too few mutations in mDNA can affect the brain and developmental process as well. The findings regarding antioxidants is also interesting. This definitely should be researched further, because it could help us discover safe ways to intervene in the aging process.
In this article, I find it very interesting how the mother’s mDNA can influence our aging process. I believe that mDNA deserves some attention, but as far as for the effects for again, I don’t think it is that important. I feel like research needs to focus more on the inheritable diseases and disabilities rather than aging.
ReplyDeleteVanessa Merta
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that there is not more research being done on mitochondrial DNA. Living in a society so obsessed with youth and staying young, you'd think that if scientists found what controlled a huge part of the aging process, a million different people would try and further that research. While I am surprised that there is not much research on this topic, I am happy that we have focused our time on other causes. There are so many more urgent things that need to be researched, like cancer and degenerative disorders, so I am happy to see less energy being put into this mDNA. Though I don't believe that it deserves much attention, any genetic information that we find needs some. Anything that can be passed down exactly from a parent, should be studied extensively for mutations that can cause diseases. With mDNA, if a mother has a mutation, the child does also. This is different because with other diseases there is always a chance that the mutation will not be inherited. Because of this, mDNA should be researched, but not simply to search for the fountain of youth.
I believe there is much more that can be found out from mDNA. The research presented in the article suggests that mDNA has been found to influence the aging process. This may seem like a slightly frivolous area to study and more like a ploy to find the infamous youth fountain than discover life-saving genetic information, but I think if we get a better idea of the mechanisms that control our aging process we will have a better way to treat diseases. The way we age has a huge effect on the state of our bodies during disease and to what we may be susceptible. On the other hand, I do think it is very important to look at nuclear DNA as it is the greatest source of mutations and variations whereas mDNA has little to no change. As is true for most of genomics, it is the combination of these two areas that will give us the best picture.
ReplyDeleteI think that mDNA is certainly an interesting factor in our inherited traits but I don't think that it carries that much weight in terms on the aging process. These days, there are so many things that people do to prevent aging. One major factor is sun damage to our skin in which people can just wear sunscreen consistently from an early age to prevent that. Not going fake tanning, eating well, not smoking, and just treating your body healthily can affect aging positively. In terms of inherited traits, some people really do just have good genetics and don't seem to get older. People tend to say that Asian women don't seem to age until menopause, which could just be a genetic trait passed down from generation to generation. It does play a factor but I don't believe more so than environmental factors.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas presented in this article seem to suggest that mDNA is more important than we previously believed. Judging from the discovery that mDNA mutations can result in changes in the aging process leads me to believe that there are probably many other mDNA mutations that could influence our health. There may be other hidden mutations in this seemingly inconsequential part of our DNA. These could lead to breakthroughs in treatment for diseases like cancer. Research concerning mDNA could prove to be very interesting and I am interested to learn about any future findings in this area of study.
ReplyDeletemRNA is so crucial in issues of inheritance, there is no question that its involvement in the aging process is a prominent one, and any and all available resources that could potentially aid in thorough research on the topic should be allocated. However, we cannot forget the epigenetic factors that undeniably contribute to the aging process. Potentially, findings in mRNA and aging could give people guidelines as to what extent the aging process is determined by their matrilineal DNA. This could potentially cause people to be more discerning regarding lifestyle choices such as smoking and alcohol use.
ReplyDeleteReading this article, all I can think is: so there is a fountain of youth out there after all. People go through many extents to look young and feel young; especially soccer moms and middle age men going through their mid-life crises. Now this opens a whole new market for them. Suddenly, they can change how someone ages without the hassle of trying to live a healthy lifestyle. Granted being healthy is always a plus, but most people are looking for the easy way out. In essence, all they have to do is find a genomics expert to help them revitalize. This can also lead to many problems such as not caring about taking care of themselves or the environment around them. The environment plays a strong role in the way we age, and those who can afford the genomics assistance will not have as many reasons to take.
ReplyDeleteThe view this article gives us is comprehensive. For this reason I feel as though the article is not swayed in any way and can therefore be looked at as a reliable source of information. I do find it interesting that the mothers mDNA can in cases influence our aging process. At first thought I was thinking there are more sever diseases and disabilities that should be focused more on over aging, but then as the article continued the study brings up the destructive effects of the mutated mDNA. This is research that should most definitely be continued. Being able to trace and track the traits that are being passed down by the mother can be life changing, and most definitely not overlooked.
ReplyDelete