In biology class last November, I had to choose an article that was relevant to what we were learning in class and write a topic paper from it. So I went to sciencenews.org and found an article about how DNA could determine how long a person lives. I found it really interesting how a person can be born with the ability to live past the average oldest age, and we were learning about DNA, so it was perfect. Here is an exert of the paper:
"...Genes are responsible for approximately 20-30% of a person’s probability of living to
the age of 85. That percentage, regardless of its minor probability, can still make a difference on
how long you live despite their physical condition. Most of the statistics that establish how long
a person lives is based on their health and lifestyle choices. Studies show that diseases, such as
diabetes (86%), obesity (44%), and high blood pressure (28%), increased a person’s chance of
dying before the age of 90. These are a number of examples of genetic diseases that are known
as multifactorial inheritance disorders."
I received an A for the essay, and of course I learned a lot about inheriting different traits from members of my family.So the question to think about would be: is living to be a hundred and more only rooted to certain descendant of a particular ethnicity, or is every person of each diversity capable of being a centenarian Another question is this: if longevity is inherited from ancestors, then is there a way that a generation can begin the genetic trait of long life?
To read the rest of the paper, click here.
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