Telomeres are one of the keys to aging. We’ve known this for decades, and the scientists who first figured it out won the Nobel Prize in 2009. (One of them was my former colleague at Johns Hopkins ...

In each cell of your body, DNA is stored in structures called chromosomes. When cells divide, these chromosomes are copied, but over time, the copying process degrades. After many cycles of making ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I'm an American writer working in fiction and nonfiction. By 1990, scientists knew that telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences ...

Researchers have further uncovered the secrets of telomeres, the caps that protect the ends of our chromosomes. They discovered that an RNA molecule called TERRA helps to ensure that very short (or ...

Scientists claim they have evidence that explains why lifestyle changes known to be good for you — low-fat diets, exercise, reducing stress — can lengthen your life. Based on a small, exploratory ...

Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have shown that it is possible to extend the life of mice, without using any gene modifying technologies. The finding is the result of ...

“I am a bit concerned about your telomeres,” the doctor told me, evenly. Telomeres are the caplike segments at the ends of the strands of DNA that make up your chromosomes—think of the plastic aglets ...

As we age, our appearance changes, our hair turns gray and wrinkles appear. And we become more susceptible to disease. One reason for this is that our telomeres shorten. These are protective caps at ...

Healthy cells can only divide a limited number of times during an organism's lifetime. In contrast, tumor cells are immortal: they proliferate indefinitely and uncontrollably, and this is the defining ...

With the aid of physics and a minuscule magnet, researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA. Telomeres are sometimes seen as the key to living longer. They protect genes from damage ...