Gene variants may hold key to aging

Gene variants that might show how fast people’s bodies are actually aging have been pinpointed by scientists.  Researchersfrom the University of Leicester and Kings College London say thefinding could help spot people at higher risk of age-related illnesses.  People carrying the variant had differences in the “biological clock” within all their cells.  The British Heart Foundation said the findings could offer a clue to ways of preventing heart disease.  Whiledoctors know that as people age they are more at risk from diseasessuch as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and heart disease, some people fallprey to these at an earlier age than expected.  Onetheory suggests that biological timers called “telomeres”, part of thechromosomes in every cell that carry genetic code, may be a factor inthis.  From birth, every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter andthere is some evidence that people with shorter telomeres, eitherbecause they diminish more quickly or because they were born withshorter versions, may be at higher risk from age-related illness.

Source and more:  BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8500761.stm