Scientists report the identification of variants associated with
biological aging in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000
genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify
these variants, which are located near a gene called TERC. The
study, published in Nature Genetics, was conducted by
researchers from the University of Leicester and King's College
London, working with University of Groningen in The Netherlands.
The paper is titled “Common variants near TERC are associated
with mean telomere length.” There are two forms of
aging—chronological aging and biological aging, whereby the
cells of some individuals are older (or younger) than suggested
by their actual age—explains British Heart Foundation professor
of cardiology at the University of Leicester Nilesh Samani who
co-led the project. “There is accumulating evidence that the
risk of age-associated diseases including heart disease and some
types of cancers are more closely related to biological rather
than chronological age. “What we s