Approaching the Hayflick limit

Aging has little going for it, but it beats the alternative. We cannot avoid senescence. The Hayflick limit is the number of times a normal human cell population will divide until cell division stops (Fig. 1) [1]. The chromosomal telomeres associated with each cell׳s DNA become slightly shorter with each new cell division until they shorten to a critical length, allowing no further divisions. Thus, as the German poet Theodor Fontane remarked in his poem Abgang (Exit): Das Beste was es sendet ist das Wissen, dass es endet.
Source: Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Commentary Source Type: research