Hi Ali,

Thanks for your email. We understand you are already in contact with Dr Epel and she’s assisting you with your project. We are so pleased you’ve been able to connect and we wish you all the best.

Futurum Webmaster

My name is Ali, and I am a student at Lexington High School in MA researching telomeres. This summer I began reading literature on leukocyte telomere length and its relation to certain personality traits. I’m hoping to write a narrative review of the literature but have run into a problem I’d value your perspective on. I originally wanted to write the narrative specifically on the association between telomere length and the Big 5 traits; however, after review, research on the Big 5 personality traits is relatively limited. Most other work on personality and telomeres falls under larger, general topics like optimism, pessimism, hostility, etc. My question is about direction: should I write the narrative review on the Big 5 traits, despite the limited research, a review on the general effect that negative traits have on telomeres, or something else? Would you be willing to spare 10-15 minutes of your time to discuss? I’m grateful for any guidance, and I completely understand if your schedule doesn’t allow it or prefer to respond through email.

Thank you very much,

Ali Riaz

The discovery of the HFE gene about 30 years ago explained the most common inherited form of the condition. We now know that rarer forms can result from changes in several other genes. Most of these genetic defects disrupt the hepcidin–ferroportin system, which normally controls how much iron is absorbed from food and released into the bloodstream. When hepcidin production or activity is insufficient, too much iron enters the blood and gradually accumulates in tissues and organs.

These discoveries identified the hepcidin pathway as a potential therapeutic target. Drugs that mimic hepcidin or increase its activity are being developed. In a small proof-of-concept study involving people with HFE-related hemochromatosis, the hepcidin mimetic rusfertide substantially reduced the need for phlebotomy while treatment continued. These results are encouraging, but such drugs remain experimental and require further evaluation before they can become routine treatment. For now, regular phlebotomy remains the standard and highly effective therapy.

Hi Alex! Thank you for your interest in our group. That is a very good question. Yes, in some instances antibiotics (orally administered) can affect the gut microbiome making it an important confounding factor for our studies. Some antibiotics are given to patients via their chemotherapy port (which is a small medical device placed under skin that will administer drugs directly to blood stream) which would not have a large impact on the gut microbiome. It all depends on type of antibiotic given and the mode to which the antibiotic was administered to the patient.

I have information for your research. I have been having a bad experience recently with a local union that is part of the FTQ. The union is aware of my mental health problems and has made them worse.

Hi Jasvika,

We are glad you found this resource useful. Please feel free to share it with your teachers.

Your research is truly inspiring and holds great promise. Thank you very much for making it publicly available. I have a question regarding one aspect of your work. In some regions, GPS signals may be unreliable or unavailable, meaning that drones would need alternative methods to navigate and remain on their planned routes. What technologies or approaches do you think are the most promising for enabling reliable navigation in rural areas or other environments where GPS is not available?