Telomere News and Research

Latest Telomere News and Research

Study reveals crucial role of TERRA in preservation of telomeres

Despite their especially compact structure that is difficult to access, telomeres transcribe information like the rest of the DNA.

18 Aug 2016

New disease gene linked to shortened telomeres appears to raise risk of pulmonary fibrosis-emphysema

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a new disease gene that, when mutated, appears to increase the risk in a small number of people of developing emphysema and a lung-scarring condition known as pulmonary fibrosis.

10 Aug 2016

Male hormones can reverse biological drivers of aging, study shows

Telomerase, an enzyme naturally found in the human organism, is the closest of all known substances to a "cellular elixir of youth." In a recent study, Brazilian and US researchers show that sex hormones can stimulate production of this enzyme.

26 Jul 2016

Mutations in STN1 gene cause Coats plus syndrome

A team of Israeli researchers has discovered that mutations in STN1, a gene that helps maintain the ends of chromosomes, cause the rare, inherited disorder Coats plus syndrome.

18 Jul 2016

Review highlights interconnected roles of apoptosis, cellular senescence in cancer and aging

A common feature of cancer and aging is cells' reduced ability to respond to stress-induced damage to DNA or cellular structures.

14 Jul 2016

Scientists discover new way to predict risk for delayed recovery in children with AML

The chemotherapy treatments necessary to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in children can be grueling on the body, and can cause health-related complications during therapy, as well as long down the road after remission.

1 Jul 2016

Scientists develop new nonradioactive method to determine telomere length

UT Southwestern Medical Center cell biologists have identified a new method for determining the length of telomeres, the endcaps of chromosomes, which can influence cancer progression and aging.

30 Jun 2016

Maternal stress exposure can have major effect on child’s development and future health

The environment the unborn child is exposed to inside the womb can have a major effect on her or his development and future health. Maternal stress during pregnancy can be transmitted biologically to the unborn child.

9 Jun 2016

Maintaining cardiomyocyte telomere length may enhance heart regeneration in adults

Researchers at the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research have discovered that the ends of heart muscle cell chromosomes rapidly erode after birth, limiting the cells' ability to proliferate and replace damaged heart tissue.

31 May 2016

TSRI study shows how specific gene mutation promotes growth of aggressive tumors

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have caught a cancer-causing mutation in the act. A new study shows how a gene mutation found in several human cancers, including leukemia, gliomas and melanoma, promotes the growth of aggressive tumors.

27 May 2016

First breakthrough in gene therapy against aging

In September 2015, then 44 year-old CEO of BioViva USA Inc. Elizabeth Parrish received two of her own company's experimental gene therapies: one to protect against loss of muscle mass with age, another to battle stem cell depletion responsible for diverse age-related diseases and infirmities.

25 Apr 2016

Person's age, mobility could be powerful predictors of survival than certain biomarkers

Advances in technology allow scientists to measure intricate details about the human body that greatly enhance understanding of health, disease and aging.

7 Apr 2016

Scientists identify RingoA protein as key regulator of meiosis

Published today in Nature Communications, a study by scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine headed by ICREA researcher Angel R. Nebreda has reported that the protein RingoA is a key regulator of meiosis--the cell division process that gives rise to ovules and sperm for sexual reproduction in mammals.

31 Mar 2016

Shugoshin protein maintains proper gene expression in subtelomeres

A research group discovered a new function of the chromosomal terminus, which may lead to the clarification of the mechanism for developing abnormal telomere structure such as multiple malformation and mental retardation.

29 Mar 2016

New anti-ageing therapy may be effective against aplastic anaemia

Aplastic anaemia is a rare, and potentially fatal, disease of the blood, by which the bone marrow is unable to generate blood cells at the appropriate pace. Many forms of aplastic anaemia share an important link with the ageing process: the shortening of telomeres, structures that protect the ends of chromosomes.

25 Feb 2016

Study provides detailed new information about diffuse glioma

An international collaborative study has revealed detailed new information about diffuse glioma, the most common type of tumor found in some 80 percent of adult brain cancer patients, raising hopes that better understanding of these disease groups may aid improved clinical outcomes.

29 Jan 2016

Having more kids may lead to slower rate of aging

A study by Simon Fraser University researchers suggests that the number of children born to a woman influences the rate at which her body ages.

11 Jan 2016

Yale study explores link between body fat, weight loss and telomere length in breast cancer survivors

It is well documented that a healthy diet and exercise are key in cancer prevention and management, but the exact mechanism hasn't been clear. Now, Yale Cancer Center researchers have found an explanation in the tiny protective ends of chromosomes called telomeres. The findings will be presented Dec. 11 at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

9 Dec 2015

UTMB researchers find mechanisms to determine when pregnant women go into labor

During the last few weeks of a woman's pregnancy, many keep an overnight bag ready to go at a moment's notice in case they begin to go into labor. They do this because there is no clear signal that labor is about to begin - before the body makes it abundantly clear that this process has started. Understanding the mechanisms that initiate this process is especially important when treating women at risk of going into labor early.

27 Oct 2015

SMC5/6 protein complex plays vital role in cancer suppression and premature ageing

A study conducted by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre´s Genomic Instability Group, led by Óscar Fernández-Capetillo, describes for the first time in mammals, the role played by the SMC5/6 protein complex in cancer suppression and premature ageing. Mutations in these complexes, which were sensitive to chemotherapeutic agents, had been previously described in yeast cells, but their exact relationship with cancer or other diseases in mammals was unknown.

8 Oct 2015