#telomeres

#telomeres

High up in the Arctic Circle, Olivier Chastel begins his working day by scanning the horizon for polar bears, rifle at the ready. "In 25 years I've never had to use it, but you can't be too careful," he explains. There can't be many conservationists who go birdwatching while armed, but the danger to life from bears in Svalbard - the largest island of the Norwegian polar archipelago - is so high that it's a legal requirement.

They're known as 'man's best friend', but dogs may be especially beneficial company for women. A new study reveals how pooches have an extraordinary anti-ageing effect on ladies. According to the authors, spending just one hour per week with a dog slows a key indicator of cellular ageing known as 'telomere length'. For women, dogs may be a cheap and effective form of treatment to help reduce the physical toll of stress and improve cellular health, say the experts.

During her final year she died on 19 August 2024 she was verified as the oldest living person, a feat that drew the attention of researchers who explore the biology of ageing. We wanted to learn from her particular case to benefit other people, says Manel Esteller, a physician specializing in genetics at the University of Barcelona in Spain. At the time, Branyas was living in the small town of Olot, in the Catalonia region of Spain, where she enjoyed reading books, playing with dogs

Treatment with henagliflozin is linked to an increase in the length of telomeres, chromosomal caps that shorten over time.

The introduction of psilocybin was linked to preserved telomere length. In other words, the study appears to show that telomeres shortened more slowly after being given psilocybin than they would have without.