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A blood test that can show how fast someone is ageing – and offers the tantalising possibility of estimating how long they have left to live – is to go on sale to the general public in Britain later this year.
"If you smoke or you're obese your insurance rates are higher, and if you have short telomeres your insurance rates might be higher too."
Originally posted by Swizzy
I wonder what the margin of error is though. There are soooo many factors that play into death. I could have a heart attack right after this post, who knows.
I think this is just another method of making some money until people realise its a waste of time.
If insurance companies get hold of this then that will make things a loooot more complicated, beaurocratic and expensive :|
Originally posted by majestictwo
I don't think this is too much of a concern - it may turn out to give some base line indicators but as some have pointed out there are so many factors that will shift this. Personally I wouldn't get it done if it were free.
Originally posted by gougitousakusha
obviously there referring to aging like wrinkled skin and organ failure due to old age. doesn't count what you do to your body yourself like clogging arteries. now i wanna know how smoking effects these things.
Originally posted by Intelearthling
reply to post by BlackStar99
I believe the main point of the research is to find a relation to the length of a telomere and the potential for longevity. While it is true that a persons habits contributes greatly to their health, if it were to be known that a telomere is longer than normal, it may contribute to the person making wise choices about their lifestyle.
I found the article interesting becuase it mentioned the impact it may have on insurance companies dealing with policies to individuals with shorter than normal telomeres.
What is normal and would a short telomere be considered a genetic disorder? Some people would say yes, of course it's a genetic disorder but have they stopped to consider that longer telomeres may be linked to genetic mutation?
We know very little about these things and what if these telomeres can be repaired?
Originally posted by BlackStar99
I honestly believe humans could double or triple their life expencancy just eating ALL organic foods, drinking pure spring water, and daily exercise. No one knows how long humans are capable of living, because everyone sits around all day stuffing their faces with BigMacs.