Cellular senescence

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cellular-senescence

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the cellular state?Irreversible cell cycle arrest
2. What is the discoverers?Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead
3. Why do cells become senescent instead of just dying?The cell stops dividing to protect the body from cancer. By halting growth, it prevents damaged cells from spreading.
4. How do senescent cells affect our bodies as we get older?They release inflammatory signals called SASP that can cause tissue damage and lead to problems like joint pain, heart disease, and brain inflammation.

Cellular senescence: A stable state of cell cycle arrest with a distinct secretory profile.
Hayflick limit: The finite number of divisions normal human cells undergo in culture.
Replicative senescence: Senescence induced by telomere shortening due to repeated cell division.
Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP): A complex mix of molecules secreted by senescent cells.