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January 18, 2013

Can Your Genes Predict When You'll Die?

Joseph Stromberg, Smithsonian


AP Photo

In Greek myth, the amount of time a person spent on earth was determined at birth by the length of a thread spun and cut by the Fates. Modern genetics suggests the Greeks had the right idea—particular DNA threads called telomeres have been linked to life expectancy. But new experiments are unraveling old ideas about fate.

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TAGGED: DNA, genes, death, telomeres

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