Telomere headlines
Link Between Faster 'Biological' Aging and Risk of Developing Age-Related Diseases. Science Daily, March 27, 2013.
An international team of scientists has found new evidence that suggests short telomeres aren't only a marker for higher risk of disease and mortality, but are a possible underlying cause of several age-related diseases—including heart disease and various cancers. The team measured telomere lengths in over 48,000 individuals and identified seven genetic variants that are associated with telomere length, and found that these genetic variants also affected risk of various diseases.
Intermountain study finds length of DNA strands can predict life expectancy. EurekAlert, March 9, 2013.
Scientists at the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, showed that people with longer telomeres live longer. The study's lead researcher, Dr. John Carlquist, said of telomere testing "We can already test cholesterol and blood pressure of a patient to see how treatment is working, but this could give us a deeper view into how the treatment is affecting the body and whether or not the treatment is working."
Why Some People Are More Likely to Catch a Cold. Time Magazine, February 22, 2013.
Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University find a relationship between telomere length and the susceptibility to infection by the common cold.
Diet Can Lengthen Telomeres for Better Health. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, January 24, 2013.
Research from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre study the effects of calorie-restriction on the rate of telomere shortening over time.
Scientists reverse some age effects in mice. Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2010.
Harvard scientists artificially induce aging in mice by shortening their telomeres, then rejuvenate them by activating telomerase.
Deadly Cancer Risk Linked to Cell Age. WebMD, July 7, 2010.
Research from Austria's Innsbruck Medical University report on individuals followed over the course of a 10-year study to assess the relationship between their telomeres and the state of their health.
Scientists Get Closer to Understanding Why We Age.
Time Magazine, February 15, 2010.
TIME Magazine's report on telomeres and the critical role they play in aging, and the hope of telomere-targeted intervention to prevent and perhaps reverse the shortening of telomeres over time.
Phys Ed: How Exercising Keeps Your Cells Young.
The New York Times, January 27, 2010.
German researchers find that middle-age people with more consistently active lifestyles had telomeres on average 40% longer than those who were primarily sedentary.
Another reason to eat your fish: it keeps you young. The Globe and Mail, January 20, 2010.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, report that patients with coronary artery disease who had the highest blood levels of omega-3 fats had a slower rate of telomere shortening than those with less omega-3.
