Could we live to 140? 1,000? Is there a limit? Scientific research into extending the human lifespan is being backed by Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Facebook. In 1900, life expectancy was 35. Now it’s over 83. But more people die than are born. Armed with data, the molecular biologist María Blasco forecasts “a very different” society for the future. “There will be fewer of us than there are now, but we will live much longer,” says the head of the Spanish National

Current estimates indicate that between 30 and 40 percent of all pet dogs live in a home that contains at least one person who smokes. A recent study suggests that these dogs are at risk of premature aging and inflammation, due to accelerated telomere shortening from smoke exposure. The full article is available here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201709/dogs-who-live-smokers-may-suffer-premature-aging

Scientists from Lund University found in a recent study that city life can be difficult for young birds, but if they survive their first year, they are less susceptible to stress. "It seems that the various stress factors in the city do not affect the survival of adult individuals in the same way as they affect that of young birds," Pablo Salmón, a research student in biology at Lund University, said in a press release. The study identified telomeres, the extremity of the chr

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have made a discovery about muscular dystrophy disorders that suggest new possibilities for treatment. In a study published today online in Stem Cell Reports, researchers found that stem cells in the muscles of muscular dystrophy patients may, at an early age, lose their ability to regenerate new muscle, due to shortened telomeres. Telomeres are tail-like chains of DNA at the ends of chromosome

Each cell in the average human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, with four telomeres on each pair. Telomeres cover the end of the chromosome, protecting it from deterioration or fusion with adjacent chromosomes, much like the plastic tip at the end of a shoelace protects it from unraveling. While there is a length range for classifying a healthy telomere, researchers found, for the first time ever, that people with heart failure have shorter telomeres within the cells th