American scientists have found that children with older fathers and grandfathers are ‘genetically programmed’ to live longer.
New study from Northwestern University revealed that delaying fatherhood may offer longer and healthier lives for the children, Press TV reported. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on Monday, said that the children who have older fathers in late 30s and early 50s inherit longer telomeres, structures that sit at the end of the chromosomes protecting them from degeneration and damage.
Longer telomeres appear to promote slower aging and could benefit the children in having longer lives, the study said after the researchers analyzed the DNA of 1,779 young adults living in the Philippines over a 30-year period.
The children would even live longer if their paternal grandfathers had also delayed fatherhood. Some research has also showed that children of older fathers have lower intelligence scores than the children who have younger fathers. The scientists, however, believe that inheriting longer telomeres will be beneficial for tissues and biological functions engaging rapid cell growth and turnover, including the immune system, gut and skin. Dr. Dan Eisenberg, the study’s lead author, said that the findings of their study will not necessarily contradict former research. “I don’t think this contradicts those other findings, and we don’t recommend people have kids at a later age,” he said. “But one major point is that what seems to be occurring is kind of interrelated with why children of older men have these mutations,” he added.
PSF assists S&T organisations: Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) is providing financial assistance to different schools and Science and Technology (S & T) organisations for their science propagation activities. The PSF assists the universities and research institutions by providing them Institutional Support Grants for the purchase of lab equipment, chemicals, literature etc. to strengthen the research capabilities of these institutions.
Talking to APP, PSF Spokesperson Rehana Batool said, “We also arrange science caravans or mobile science exhibitions in remote areas, in order to give firsthand knowledge of science to the youth”. These caravans are mounted on specially designed vehicles. They consist of display items like panel exhibits having photographs and write-ups, equipment, inflatable planetarium, documentaries, microscopes, computers, laser holograms and working models reflecting various phenomena of physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology.
At present, nine science caravan units are in operation, two for each of the four provinces and one is stationed at Islamabad, she said. There are many scientific societies and learned bodies, disciplinary as well as general, in the country which are actively engaged in the promotion of science and technology.
