Hayflick
Hayflick is a scientific idea about why cells in our bodies age and why we age overall. It's named after a scientist called Leonard Hayflick.
Our bodies are made up of lots of cells, and in each cell there is something called DNA. DNA is like a set of instructions that tells the cell what to do. In each cell, there are pieces of DNA that tell the cell how many times it can make copies of itself, known as 'splitting'.
Hayflick said that cells can only split a certain number of times before they get too old and stop being able to make copies. This number is called the Hayflick limit. Once the limit has been reached, the cell stops functioning correctly, and eventually it dies.
As our cells reach their Hayflick limit, the number of healthy cells in our body declines, which means that our body doesn't work as well as it used to. This is why we get older and eventually die.
Our bodies are made up of lots of cells, and in each cell there is something called DNA. DNA is like a set of instructions that tells the cell what to do. In each cell, there are pieces of DNA that tell the cell how many times it can make copies of itself, known as 'splitting'.
Hayflick said that cells can only split a certain number of times before they get too old and stop being able to make copies. This number is called the Hayflick limit. Once the limit has been reached, the cell stops functioning correctly, and eventually it dies.
As our cells reach their Hayflick limit, the number of healthy cells in our body declines, which means that our body doesn't work as well as it used to. This is why we get older and eventually die.
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