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Articles on Telomeres

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Melanoma is a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer. Dlumen/iStock via Getty Images Plus

How cancer cells can become immortal – research finds a mutated gene that helps melanoma defeat the normal limits on repeated replication

One enzyme plays a key role in how tumor cells replicate and divide indefinitely. Identifying the genes that give these cells their immortality could provide new drug targets to treat cancer.
Telomeres (red) at the ends of chromosomes protect your DNA from damage. Thomas Ried/NCI Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health via Flickr

Cells become zombies when the ends of their chromosomes are damaged – a tactic both helpful and harmful for health

The protective caps at the ends of chromosomes naturally shorten over time. Researchers found that direct damage can prematurely trigger senescence and contribute to age-related diseases like cancer.
At a molecular level, stresses and strains can make your body clock break into a sprint. Lightspring/Shutterstock

Tick, tock… how stress speeds up your chromosomes’ ageing clock

Emerging evidence suggests that prolonged stress exposure can accelerate the ticking rate of an internal cellular clock. By doing so, stress can contribute to faster ageing and body deterioration.
A telomere age test kit from Telomere Diagnostics Inc. and saliva. collection kit from 23andMe. Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock.com

DNA testing companies offer telomere testing – but what does it tell you about aging and disease risk?

Genetic testing companies are offering tests that analyze the ends of your chromosomes – telomeres – to gauge your health and your real age. But is there scientific evidence to support such tests?
Are space twin Scott and Earth twin Mark no longer identical? Robert Markowitz/NASA

Does a year in space make you older or younger?

Before sending humans to Mars or the moon, scientists need to understand what long-term space living does to the human body. Now results are coming in from the Kelly brothers in the TWINS Study,
Bright sun and fatty foods are a bad recipe for your DNA. By Tish1/shutterstock.com

How summer and diet damage your DNA, and what you can do

Scientists have long thought that regions of DNA called telomeres control how long you live. We are now learning that it is your diet and lifestyle that shape your telomeres, not the other way around.
Use-by dates: human chromosomes with their telomeres highlighted. NASA

Do Finnish men age faster when unemployed?

Men who are unemployed for more than two years show signs of faster ageing in their DNA, according to a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE. Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland and…

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