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POLL of the DAY (79): TAKING THE TELOMERE TEST?

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19 Mar 2015 33 Respondents
55%
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Amanda Lees
AUT Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences
Mega Mind (40519 XP)
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POLL of the DAY (79): TAKING THE TELOMERE TEST?

Biotechnology now exists that can predict how fast someone is aging and subsequently give an indication of how long that person is likely to live.

A simple blood test can now show the length of one's 'telomeres' which appear on the chromosomes and are thought to offer an accurate measure of a person's biological age and importantly how much that differes from their chronological age.

Marketing of this test is now underway and within a year it will be available on the UK market for around NZ$800.

There appears to be a demand for the test in that it will give people the oppoprtunity to adjust their lifestyle if they are aging more than expected, however the cost is beyond many.

If funded by the government though, being able to prevent the onset of lifestyle diseases early would likely save the country much more than the cost of the test - but do you want to know this sort of information?

What do you think? Would you take the test?

Read More here and here

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It is proposed that if funding was available I would take the telomere test