Want to know your life span? Take a blood test
December 28, 2012  13:18
Researchers claim to have developed a new controversial 'lifespan' test that can tell how long a person will live by determining the rate of ageing. The blood test estimates how fast someone is ageing by measuring the length of microscopic structures at the ends of each chromosome called telomeres, which keep each chromosome from falling apart when cells divide, they said.

Telomeres shorten after each cell division and animal studies have shown that a high percentage of short telomeres in blood cells is associated with a shorter-than-normal life expectancy, which is why blood tests could provide a guide to ageing and life expectancy.
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