Now that telomeres have our attention ...

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Telomeres are the talk of the day, what with the Nobel Prize in medicine being awarded to three scientists for their discovery of these small caps on DNA strands.

Today’s story notes that the work identifying and exploring the relevance of these crucial bits began decades ago.

But it hasn’t stopped. A story earlier this year pondered the question of just how much our telomeres can tell us: ‘Genetic Clues to Predicting Life Span.’

It begins: ‘Wrinkles may betray our age externally, but our cells divulge their age -- and chronicle life’s toll -- at the tips of our chromosomes. These tips, called telomeres, may also foretell our risk of early death.’

-- Tami Dennis