€500 to find out how long you have left

TeddyTedson

Would you pay it. A new blood test claims to be able to give an accurate reading of how much time you have left.

A blood test that can show how fast someone is ageing - and offers the tantalising possibility of estimating how long they have left to live - is to go on sale to the general public later this year.
The controversial test 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.

This is something I would never get. Why would someone want to know that? I wonder if life assurance companies could make the test mandatory in the future:eek: That's if we make it past 2012 of course.
I for one, hope we do.

cherryghost

I'd rather not know when I die. There's something a bit unnerving with the thoughts that you could actually know when you could chuck it in

Xivilai

I like my deaths to be a surprise

Liam Byrne

Imagine paying the €500 to hear that you've 20 years to live.....

.....and then getting killed by a bus as you leave.

Hopefully your dependents could sue for them lying to you.

Sykk

I don't want to know when I'm going to die. So, nein.

Princess Peach

I wouldn't pay for a blood smear prediction, cause I could squashed by a space ship a week later sure.

I would like to know when and how I die though. Cause then I'd know I culd survive everything else. Like with no risks.

KeithM89_old

Anyone who pays for that is an idiot. Im gonna wait outside the clinic for anyone who gets it, shoot them, then make some witty one-liner like 'Your blood-test didnt see that coming!', then strut off.

AckwelFoley

how does a blood test predict getting runover by a train?

Interesting :pac:

I see the headlines now in a few years.

Californian family sues clinic that carried out blood tests on their daughter. Lilly lillison 22 took the bloodtest in december and was told she would live to the age of 93, upon receiving the results she booked a skydiving session in Nevada and insisted on doing the jump without a parachute - stupid white bitch thought she was bullet proof

Dangerdunf

No i wouldn't get it done. Id rather be suprised by my death and go out with a bang!

Kasabian

I have no plans to die so me having the test would just refute the claim.

m@cc@

How can a blood test take into account future diet, environment and outside events?

Fools and money etc.

mikom

Prefer to look at my Lifeclock to be honest.
Blinks red before turning black, then a quick run from the Carrousel and a go on a young Jenny Agutter.

Saila

so that you can accept the challenege and then shit on it when the date passes and youre still alive :cool:

smokedeels

And what if I fork out the 500 squid and get obliterated by a car on the way back home, will my relatives get a refund?

AckwelFoley

load of bollox tbh..

there is already a facebook app that does that.

serious

Dyr

Be cool if someone went and got it done and the technician looked at the results and went "there must be some mistake here mister vangoulash..according to this you should have died 200 years ago"

Then close up of mr vangoulash smiling menacingly and revealing some very sharp teeth indeed, technician screams

annnnnd cut to credits

Ruu_Old

:rolleyes: I'll go for the proven scientific* method! Click me!



*collect 20 packets of crisp bags and become a scientist.

Dartz

However long I have left, I'll decide myself thank you very much.

hatrickpatrick

The problem here is that things change as people go through life. You can gain or lose weight dramatically, you can take up lifestyle traits which either positively or negatively impact your life expectancy, you can get injured, etc.

A test like this assumes that (a) your lifestyle will remain EXACTLY as it is now for the entire rest of your life, and that (b) nothing will happen to you along the way.

In other words, to quote Moss from the IT Crowd, "These things are AT BEST, 79% accurate." :P

My name is URL

Feck that for a game of toy soldiers.. it'd be 500 euro down the drain if you end up being hit by a bus