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Author Topic:   Exposure To Violence ages children's DNA, shortens their chromosomes
T
Knowflake

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posted April 26, 2012 04:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for T     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Heard a news blip on TV earlier about this:

(full article here: ) http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-04-24/violence-cellular-mark/54493338/1?csp=34news


quote:
In fact, a new study suggests that violence leaves long-term scars on children's bodies — not just in bruises on the skin, but also altering their DNA, causing changes that are equivalent to seven to 10 years of premature aging.
Scientists measured this cellular aging by studying the ends of children's chromosomes, called telomeres, according to Idan Shalev, lead author of a study in today's Molecular Psychiatry.
Telomeres are special DNA sequences that act like the plastic tips on shoelaces, which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from unraveling. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell can't divide anymore and it dies.
Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation and psychological stresses such as early life maltreatment and taking care of a chronically ill person.

quote:
"We know that toxic stress is bad for you," says Nathan Fox, a professor of human development at the University of Maryland and co-author of the 2011 paper. "This paper provides a mechanism by which this type of stress gets 'under the skin' and into the genes."

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Yin
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posted May 03, 2012 12:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Yin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, I've heard this before. You can dramatically alter development when exerting influence over small children. There was a documentary on Netflix about it. I'll try to find it.

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