
A blood test that can show how fast someone is aging - and offers the tantalising possibility of estimating how long they have left to live - is to go on sale to the general public in UK later this year.
Scientists behind the ?435 test said it will tell whether a person is biologically aging, as measured by the length of their telomeres, and is older or younger than their actual chronological age, as measured by years since birth.
In addition to concerns about how people will react to a test for how old they really are, some scientists are worried that telomere testing may be hijacked by unscrupulous organisations trying to peddle unproven anti-aging remedies and other fake elixirs of life.
The results of the tests might also be of interest to companies offering life-insurance policies or medical cover that depend on a person's lifetime risk of falling ill or dying prematurely.

For ?435 for a test a bit too much for me I might as well get some booze and forget about life and death.


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