Chromosome Ends and Diseases of Aging

I'm asking because all of the men on my father's side became alcoholics. It seems genetic.  However, I had a genetic study done on my self through a genetics lab and I picked up the best possible genes from both parents, equally.

So, I'm not screwed after all.

That's most likely a behavioral thing than a genetic thing.

I just meant that my father drank heavily and smoked heavily and passed away in his 70s. His father lived to be in his late 90s and was also a heavy drinker. My mother is a non smoker/non drinker and she's just now going into her 80s. Her mother lived into her 90s. What chances do I have being a non smoker and moderate drinker?

Ah...I see now. Well, that actually depends whether or not you accept the disease model of addiction. If you do, then you have about a 50/50 chance of being substance dependent. if , on the other hand, you think its genetic, you're, for lack of a better word, screwed.

Fascinating! If I'm comprehending this correctly ( and that's a big if), we are on the last leg of not only developing a cure for cancer, we are nearing genetic immortality. Wow. Wow. Wow. I think I've just had my mind blown.

could you Dr, Please send me that lecture on my email

Congratulation!

Thank you

Professor Blackburn just won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine (along with Carol Greider (of Johns Hopkins) and Jack Szostak (of Harvard University Medical School).

What if your parent passed away due to a health issue such as excessive drinking and smoking...does this play a part in the longivity regarding genetics?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking...Does the excessive smoking and drinking play a part in your genetics? i would think only if one or both parents were engaged in such behavior at the time of conception. Likewise, perhaps if one's mother did so while in gestation. Otherwise, I don't see how such behavior could effect an offsprings genetic integrity

im the first ...yeah! .... hello??? =D