Stressful jobs making us age prematurely London, July 30 (ANI):
Finnish researchers have confirmed that a stressful job could
make us old and sick before time. Led by Kirsi Ahola of the
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the researchers
measured the length of DNA sections called telomeres and how the
lengths varied in association with job stress and found that
people suffering from the most job stress tended to have shorter
telomeres. Telomeres, located at the ends of chromosomes, serve
as a type of protective cap to the ropy strands, helping assure
that the genetic instructions carried by genes on the
chromosomes are accurately translated so cells get the right
messages. Telomeres shorten with age, oxidation and chemical
insults. Often, when telomeres reach a critically short length,
the cell dies in a process called apoptosis, according to NBC
News. Some cells do not die, but rather become what scientists
call 'senescent' - they start making genetic errors and causing
damage. Ahola and her team analy