Simple Blood Test To Tell No. of Yrs Left For U To Live
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Will you buy this blood test kit (S$880), or an iphone?
LONDON: A blood test that can show how fast someone is ageing will go on sale in Britain later this year, British newspapers reported yesterday.
The test, which also offers the alluring possibility of estimating how long the person has left to live, will cost £435 (S$880).
The new technology measures vital structures on the tips of a person's chromosomes, called telomeres, which scientists believe are one of the most important and accurate indicators of the speed at which a person is ageing, The Independent reported.
Some studies have shown that individuals with shorter-than- normal telomeres are likely to die younger than those with longer telomeres.
The scientist who developed the test, Dr Maria Blasco of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid, said: 'We know that people who are born with shorter telomeres than normal also have a shorter lifespan. But we don't know whether longer telomeres are going to give you a longer lifespan.'
Dr Blasco said the test is simple, fast and very precise.
'We can detect very small differences in telomere length and it is a very simple and fast technique where many samples can be analysed at the same time. Most importantly, we are able to determine the presence of dangerous telomeres - those that are very short,' she said.
The over-the-counter test can show whether a person's 'biological age', as measured by the length of his telomeres, is older or younger than his actual chronological age, The Independent reported. The results also provide vital insights into a range of age-related disorders, from cardiovascular disease to Alzheimer's and cancer.
Medical researchers believe that telomere testing will become widespread within the next five or 10 years, but there are already some who question its value and whether there should be stronger ethical controls over its wider use.
Critics believe that the new technology opens a Pandora's box, whereby insurance companies may demand tests before offering someone a policy, the Daily Mail said. Some are also worried that such testing may be hijacked by organisations or individuals trying to peddle fake elixirs of life, the report added.
But the test cannot yet predict the exact number of months and years a person has to live.
Telomere research is considered to be one of the most exciting areas in biomedical science. The three scientists who shared the Nobel Prize in medicine last year are pioneers in the field, The Independent said.
Dr Blasco's company, Life Length, is not the only company selling telomere tests but is the only one gearing up for over- the-counter sales, according to Professor Jerry Shay of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre.
Asked why the public would be interested in taking a telomere test, Prof Shay said: 'I think people are just basically curious about their own mortality.'
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Haiz, people just never learn.
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Why want to go for this kind of test?
You are making yourself so stress.
What for?
Better let it go naturally and live happily isnt it good?
Wake up, not worth going for such a test. But if you are nothing much to do in your life, by all means.
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like i was telling my fren
if u know when u r dying
den u buy a coffin & wait for that day
I will choose a pink coffin cos it's my favourite color
waiting to die, no life at all
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i would buy a few little blue boxes.
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funding
these scientists need funding for their other research
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Originally posted by JerryJan:
like i was telling my fren
if u know when u r dying
den u buy a coffin & wait for that day
I will choose a pink coffin cos it's my favourite color
waiting to die, no life at all
Eh..madam, we do hv pink colored one, may I ask do you want to see face one or the one cannot see face one. The roof glass shield
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Our rates is as follows
Beside china made ones which is below $1000, Italian and British type will be more expensive,
Custom make like yours will cost $2500 per casket, with roof glass will add another $500.
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telomere long got what use
一场车祸就habis liao
so its nt hw long u live but how well u lived
and imagine when u take the test and find out that ur didi is not the only short thing...........................................
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What's the point in it?
Everyone has around 70 - 80 years (and some maybe more of life span).
If using this box tells you that you have 20 years left to live.. this means that you can either die (the day after you use the box to 20 years later). Won't you just be sitting on your death bed and waiting for the grim reaper to come? -- If you do so, you will resent to your fate that your life is like this. you wouldn't exercise, you wouldn't eat right etc etc.. and most probably this oracle in the box will be correct.. (since you are not helping yourself to live longer).
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I wouldn't want to buy it. Knowing how long I have to live would simply create unnecessary stress for me, unless I have a terminal illness to begin with.
Besides, it is by no means a truly accurate test. It assumes that you will continue to age at more or less the same rate, without accounting for factors like, say, the fact that you work in an old building full of asbestos.
Also, even after controlling for all those factors, it doesn't account for the probability that you might get langgar-ed by a 5 tonner tomorrow morning.
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I doubt the accuracy of the test........
To me, it is a form of charlatanism.....
Those people are selling it to make money.......
Because other things would affect lifespan too......such as smoking, excercise routine, nutrition, stress level, etc......so it's not just about one factor such as the telomeres.
This type of false advertising should be banned and made criminal....they are just cheating people's money and taking advantage......
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this blood test kit can use for how long?
can buy 1 and than let many people use? or each can only use for 1 person?
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Originally posted by goodheart:
this blood test kit can use for how long?
can buy 1 and than let many people use? or each can only use for 1 person?
人生çŸçŸä¸€ç™¾å¹´..
why bother doing such tests when it's time to go, you go.
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We all gotta die someday... It makes no difference whether or not someone know when he will die...
Besides, there are always other factor like accidents -____- Supposely u might live a long life but then someone stabbed u in the heart, GG~
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Dont try.
Better not to know then you know.
And it is not 100% truth.
Supposing one tried and said can live till 70 yr old.
He happy go celebrating, but got fatal accident and died on the spot.
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Originally posted by kenn3th:
人生çŸçŸä¸€ç™¾å¹´..
why bother doing such tests when it's time to go, you go.
Agree.
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Test may show a long life.
But unhealty life style can cut you short.
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u dun have to know when ur last day
u just have to live each day as if it's ur last
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Originally posted by FireIce:
u dun have to know when ur last day
u just have to live each day as if it's ur last
Chiu used this line for quite a few thread le ah~
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很好用
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i dun wanna close my eyes
i dun wanna fall asleep
cos i miss u babe
and i dun wanna miss that
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Originally posted by likeyou:
Dont try.
Better not to know then you know.
And it is not 100% truth.
Supposing one tried and said can live till 70 yr old.
He happy go celebrating, but got fatal accident and died on the spot.
worse is if test say will live till 45 and u go spend all your money
and sekarli 70 still haven't diehong gan~
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*bends over for angel7030