The most dangerous cancer cells are actually the ones that are more like stem cells, which have this ability to produce themselves over and over again. More and more cancer biologists say stem-cell-like cells in cancers are the most dangerous.
Checking your telomere length is a bit like weighing yourself: you get this single number which depends on a lot of factors. Telomere length gives a sense of your underlying health.
I was using very unconventional methods to sequence the telemetric DNA, originally.
Being senior enough in the field, having enough solidity, I don't feel afraid of being marginalized.
If a test showed you had telomere shortening, it would be a red flag suggesting you should take a look at possible risk factors.
In 2004, results from a study that I worked on with colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, linked chronic stress to shortening of telomeres.
