Why do our bodies get older, and why do we all eventually die of old age?
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I remember some of this from college biology.
Most of our cells have these bits of protein at the ends of our chromosomes. Every time a replication is made, a tiny bit of that protein is shed.
Over time, and many divisions, those protein bits finally fall away completely. The cell can reproduce no longer. The cell dies without having any replacement.
As we age, we have less capacity to produce newer cells with fresh proteins for reproduction / duplication. This is partly responsible for the ageing process.
Cancer cells lack this kind of “self destruct” mechanism. Those protein bits never shed away and the cancer cells can reproduce *ad infinitum* so long as they are fed.
Someone help me out here. I’m not totally off-base but I’m not getting the details precise at all.
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