'Science Of Aging' VIDEO: Why We Get Older From Biological Perspective

WATCH: Why Do We Get Older?

Why do we get older? It might seem like a silly question, but scientists have asked it in hopes that they might one day counteract the process.

"The Science of Aging", a new video from online video series AsapSCIENCE, answers the question from a biological perspective.

In the video, AsapSCIENCE masterminds Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown detail a key player in the aging process: telomeres. These little sequences of DNA sit at the ends of our chromosomes to protect against chromosomal "fraying" as our cells replicate.

How important are they? "In humans, the thing is that as we mature, our telomeres slowly wear down. So the question has always been: did that matter? Well, more and more, it seems like it matters," Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her studies on cell biology, told the The New York Times.

Learn more about telomeres and other biological factors of aging in the video above.

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