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More reinforcement for telomere theories of aging is reported by Betterhumans: scientists are closing in on the inheritance mechanism for telomere length. (Telomeres, as you may recall, are the "caps" that protect your DNA from damage during replication). This, coupled with other studies, would seem to confirm that shorter telomeres lead to greater genetic damage with advancing age - and therefore greater incidence of age-related disease. Like other theories of aging, however, this doesn't seem to be the whole story. Other mechanisms are at work to produce the familiar degenerative effects of aging.

Link: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-02-13-4