UW News
Dan Eisenberg
January 25, 2017
‘Protective’ DNA strands are shorter in adults who had more infections as infants
![chromosomes on a slide](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/01/04143704/TELOMERES-TILE-150x150.jpg)
New research indicates that people who had more infections as babies harbor a key marker of cellular aging as young adults: the protective stretches of DNA which “cap” the ends of their chromosomes are shorter than in adults who were healthier as infants.