What are Telomeres? (IMAGE)

Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

What are Telomeres?

Caption

Telomeres -- which are protective caps on the ends of our chromosomes -- are DNA sequences that generally shrink with age, acting as a "molecular clock" in human cells. Every time cells divide, telomeres shorten until they become critically short and signal the cell to stop dividing. For these reasons, there has been great interest in the ability of this biomarker to predict mortality.

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Woodrow Wilson School

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