Get Access to Print and Digital for $23.99 per year.
Subscribe for Full Access

An Austrian biologist theorized that the erosion of telomeres, highly repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes, might function as a kind of internal clock that determines when a species will become extinct. Once a species’ telomeres have sufficiently degenerated, the theory holds, individuals will begin to suffer an increase in cancers and immune disorders. Human telomeres, it was noted, are somewhat short.

Adjust

An Austrian biologist theorized that the erosion of telomeres, highly repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes, might function as a kind of internal clock that determines when a species will become extinct. Once a species’ telomeres have sufficiently degenerated, the theory holds, individuals will begin to suffer an increase in cancers and immune disorders. Human telomeres, it was noted, are somewhat short.

More
Close
“An unexpectedly excellent magazine that stands out amid a homogenized media landscape.” —the New York Times
Subscribe now

Debug