Blame common colds on your chromosome 'telomere Caps?'

The researchers recruited 152 healthy 18- to 55-year-olds, and measured telomere length in the volunteers' T cells—immune system cells that fight off infection. They then exposed the men and women to a cold virus via nasal drops, and quarantined them in a hotel to be monitored. Over the next five days, 22 percent of the volunteers developed cold symptoms, and the odds were higher among those with shorter telomeres in a particular subtype of T cell. Of the one-third with the shortest telomeres, 26 percent became sick, versus 13 percent among the one-third with the longest telomeres.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blame-common-colds-chromosome-caps.html#jCp