Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

A Screening Method for Identification of Heterochromatin-Promoting Drugs Using Drosophila
Published on: March 12, 2020
Global heterochromatin loss: a unifying theory of aging?
1Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
The aging field is replete with theories. Over the past years, many distinct, yet overlapping mechanisms have been proposed to explain organismal aging. These include free radicals, loss of heterochromatin, genetically programmed senescence, telomere shortening, genomic instability, nutritional intake and growth signaling, to name a few. The objective of this Point-of-View is to highlight recent progress on the "loss of heterochromatin" model of aging and to propose that epigenetic changes contributing to global heterochromatin loss may underlie the various cellular processes associated with aging.
Related Concept Videos
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Euchromatin
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer is an enzyme that can...
