If you think you’re not aging well, you may be able to blame your mother. Scientists have linked maternal genes to how our bodies handle growing old.
If you think you’re not aging well, you may be able to blame your mother. Scientists have linked maternal genes to how our bodies handle growing old.
It all comes down to the mitochondria, the part of the cell that breaks down sugars and turns them into energy we can use.
They have their own DNA, and it ages faster than the DNA in the nucleus.
Plus, all of the genes in it come from our mothers, unlike the nucleic ones which inherit DNA from both parents.
As the mitochondria ages it breaks down just like the rest of the cell.
The problem is that when we’ve inherited faulty mitochondrial DNA from mom, the mutations can cause the deterioration to happen a lot faster.
This is because the mitochondria’s ability to do what it’s best at – producing energy – becomes increasingly compromised.
Lowered energy production results in accelerated aging and the problems that come with it.
Don’t scratch Mother’s Day off of your calendar just yet, though. They’ve only tested this out on mice which means it may or may not be true in people.
