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Scientists have found eight genes that could help us to live longer, healthier lives.

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The researchers have pinpointed eight genetic variations that control the production of a crucial hormone which is linked to old age as well as diseases of the elderly.

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Scientists are slowly unlocking the secrets of ageing, and some suggest treatments may soon be at hand to slow or even reverse the ageing process.

Take a close look at the picture on the right – it holds the key to your entire future. The spongey ‘worms’, which have been coloured green, are examples of the body’s X and Y chromosomes – whiles the red caps are telomeres.

People blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age than those who look more than their years, work shows. Danish scientists say appearance alone can predict survival, after they studied 387 pairs of twins.

There are, it seems, medical breakthroughs nearly every week to help us combat one of the harsh facts of life: ageing.

At least 30 genes appear to play a role in the age at which girls reach puberty, according to an international group of scientists.

An international team of researchers have identified 30 genes connected to the onset of periods in women, some of which regulate body weight and fat metabolism.

Researchers at King’s College London’s Department of Twin Research have discovered, as part of a large international consortium, 30 new genes that control the age of sexual maturation in women, the Journal Nature Genetics publishes today.

British scientists have discovered that people with lots of moles are genetically protected from many of the ravages of time.

Scientists have pinpointed 30 genes that control the timing of puberty in females. They also believe many of these genes also play a role in body weight regulation or fat metabolism.

A gene that causes short-sightedness has been pin-pointed by British scientists, paving the way for eye drops that could make glasses history.

Researchers from the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London have identified genes associated with tow common eye problems, myopia and glaucoma. The findings have been published in this week’s edition of Nature Genetics.

Short-sightedness could be consigned to history after scientists identified a collection of genes linked to the condition.

Scientists have discovered strands of genetic code liked to short sight, the most common eye disorder in the world.

A hugely ambitious study of epigenetic effects in identical twins was launched today, the largest of its kind to date. The Epitwin Project is collaboration between TwinsUK, a research group based at King’s College London, and BGI, the Chinese DNA sequencing powerhouse in Shenzhen.

One of the most ambitious large-scale projects in Human Genetics has been launched today: Epitwin will capture the subtle epigenetic signatures that mark the differences between 5,000 twins on a scale and depth never before attempted, providing key therapeutic targets for the development of drug treatments.

An international study co-authored by McGill University researcher Brent Richards explains why sunshine and certain foods aren’t always enough to ward off a Vitamin d deficiency.

Nutrition and sun exposure are both primes influences on an individual’s vitamin D level, but a new study suggests that genetics could help determine a person’s risk for vitamin D deficiency.

At least half of adults in developed countries have deficient levels of vitamin D, and low levels of this vitamin have been linked to bone fragility, cancer, heart disease and immune system problems.

For scientists have shown a big nose offers greater protection against colds and flu. Here, from a big bottom to flat feet, we reveal why the body parts you hate might be doing you a favour…

Previous studies on the genetics of human eye colour used broadly categorized trait information such as ‘blue’, ‘green’, and ‘brown’; however, variation in eye colour exists in a continuous grading from the lightest blue to the darkest brown.

Researchers at King’s College London’s Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, based at St Thomas’ Hospital have discovered new ways of measuring biological markers in the blood which could be used to diagnose osteoarthritis earlier.

Gene variants that might show how fast people’s bodies are actually ageing have been pinpointed by scientists.

Scientists have found a ‘Peter Pan gene’ that could explain why some people remain baby-faced while others become old before their time.

Scientists from King’s and the University of Leicester have for the first time identified definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The discovery has important implications for the understanding of cancer and age associated diseases.

Scientists have identified the first definitive genetic variants associated with biological ageing in humans. Their study suggests that some people may be genetically programmed to age at a faster rate when exposed to environmental factors such as smoking, obesity or lack of exercise.

Scientists have isolated a gene sequence that appears to determine how fast our bodies age, the first time a link between DNA and human lifespan has been found.

A genetic test for how quickly a person will age over the course of a lifetime may soon be possible following a study that has for the first time definitively identified DNA variations in the population that can be linked with biological ageing.

A student of European culture might conclude that the international G-spot debate of 2010 could be condensed to Ooh la la vs. Close your eyes and think of England.

It’s been debated for half a century, yet no one can quite agree on the supposedly magical, nickel-sized female pleasure zone called the G-spot.

Women everywhere have read or heard that they may possess a secret pleasure zone inside their bodies that, is stimulated correctly, yields intense pleasure and even orgasm. But this so-called G-spot has never been precisely identified as a concrete biological entity. Scientists are still arguing over what it is and whether it exists at all.

According to new research carried by scientists at King’s College, London, the mysterious G-spot, the sexual pleasure zone said to be possessed by some women but denied to others, like Atlantis, is a myth.

It’s the news lazy fellas have been waiting for – the G Spot does not exist. Scientists say the mysterious erogenous zone, said to make women orgasm, is a myth.

You can call off the search, chaps – the G-spot may not exist after all. Researchers who studied 1,800 women have found no evidence of the female erogenous zone.

No sex please, we’re British. As tight-lipped as the average person is about discussing sex, there are loads of rumours about the act – probably stemming from the playground – which seemed to have worked their way in the mainstream.

The elusive erogenous zone said to exist in some women may be a myth, say researchers who have hunted for it.

A new scientific study has cast doubt on whether the erogenous G-spot zone in women actually exists.

Scientists say new research shows that the G-spot -- the reputed hot zone for women’s intense orgasms – simply doesn’t exist.

After years of bedroom exploration and debate, a row about the location of the fabled G-spot might be finally over – but in vain.

A study by British scientists has found that the mysterious G-spot, the sexual pleasure zone said to be possessed by some women but denied to others, may not exist at all.

Scientists in the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit at King’s working with 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia have identified five common genetic variations which affect lung function.

Women with osteoporosis face being banned from getting drugs which tackle their condition unless their bones are dangerously thin. GPs will be allowed to order £300-a-year Protelos only for patients whose condition has ‘deteriorated’ – even though the cost of treating a broken hip is estimated at £25,300 a year.

There’s something about twins that exerts a peculiar hold on the popular imagination. Maybe it’s just that most of us can’t get over how spooky it would be to look into a human mirror but the concept of identical twins does hold a kind of freaky fascination.

In the second part of this enlightening series, the identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken visit two mass gatherings of twins in London and Ohio, where they have a unique chance to meet hundreds of pairs of identical and non-identical twins and find out how dissimilar they really are.

I’ve had problems before with Chris and Xander, two male doctors who first popped up on Channel 4 in a series called Medicine Men and are now fronting up The Secret Life of Twins, a BBC1 series about what we can learn about nature versus nurture from biology’s very own buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Earlier this year the unit celebrated their development of the twins database with a Summer Twin Party in July. The BBC filmed this event for the twins documentary The Secret Life of Twins and the programmes will air tonight and tomorrow at 9pm on BBC One.

Science loves twins because they help pinpoint which characteristics we’re born with and which are shaped by our environment.

My identical twin brother Chris is 2cm taller than me. Barely noticeable you would think. I can see what it is like to be him by standing on tip-toes just a little and frankly the world does not look much different from up there. Nonetheless it bothers me: I could have been that tall. I have exactly the same genes as my brother.

The Summer Twin Party hosted by the Twin Research Unit at King’s College London, based at St Thomas’ Hospital, celebrated their development of the twins database. The BBC filmed the event for the ‘The Secret Life of Twins’, a documentary to be aired on BBC on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October at 9 pm.

They look alike, think alike, sometimes even dress alike. Identical twins may make up just half a per cent of the world’s population but their uniqueness is proving to be more than just skin-deep.

Before they divided into separate embryos, Bob and Mike Bryan existed, briefly, as a single zygote. Thirty-one years later, the identical twins have become the greatest doubles pair of their generation.

Have you always hated eating your greens, even though they’re good for you? Do you love coffee? Adore garlic in cooking? Doctors and scientists at King’s College London’s twin research department based at St Thomas’ think our food likes and dislikes may be hardwired in us.

A study of Caucasian female twins prompts researchers to ask if public health advice to avoid sun could be causing low vitamin D levels. Research produced by the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, has shown that vitamin D levels are lower in fair-skinned Caucasian women than in Caucasian women with darker skin types.

Public health warnings about skin cancer have led to a rise in Vitamin D deficiency through, lack of sunlight, according to a controversial study into the effects of ultraviolet exposure.

Sunshine is not the main cause of the most dangerous form of skin cancer, according to researchers, who say some warnings about the perils of sunbathing are scarring people unnecessarily.

A research team led by the Twin Research Department, at King’s College London with colleagues from Imperial College London, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Brisbane and Leeds has found novel genes for melanoma in one of several studies to be published today in Nature Genetics.

Several hundred twins from across Britain and a few abroad attended a garden party at St Thomas’ Hospital on Saturday. The Twin Summer Party was hosted by King’s College London’s Department of Twin Research. Big Ben across the river provided a backdrop for photographs.

Scientists have produced more evidence that vitamin D has an important role in keeping the brain in good working order in later life.

London: Scientists have found new gene variant linked with the age at which females experience menstrual period and the onset of menopause, which can even help in preventing breast and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

London (PTI): For long, scientists have debated why some women go through puberty and menopause early or late. Now, a new study has uncovered the ‘first genetic evidence ‘ to explain differences in the length of their fertile lives.

A large group of studies have found genetic links between body mass index and the onset of menarche.

Scientists have found new gene variants linked with the age at which females experience menstrual period and the onset of menopause, which can even help in preventing breast and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Genes controlling menopause and menarche have been identified in two studies by UK twin researchers at the Department of Twin Research, King’s College London and published today in Nature Genetics.

Scientists say they have begun to crack the genetic code that helps determine when a girl becomes a woman.

Women who are more ‘emotionally intelligent’ get greater pleasure from sex, research on twins suggest.

Women with brains have more fun in bed than the average bimbo, scientists found.

Women with high emotional intelligence (EI) have better sex lives, according to a new study.

Emotional intelligence in women, the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, appears to increase their number of orgasms, suggests a study by the Department of Twin Research and published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Women blessed with ‘emotional intelligence’ – the ability to express their feelings and read those of others – have better sex lives, research shows.

Women blessed with ‘emotional intelligence’ – the ability to express their feelings and read those of others – have better sex lives, research shows.

Women who are in touch with their feelings have more fun in bed, research suggests.

Studies on twins allow scientists to estimate how much of a trait can be explained by genes. The same data set has previously allowed scientist to conclude that up to 45 per cent of the differences between women in their ability to reach orgasm can be explained by their genes.

The first thing Amie Curtis, 27, ever did without her sister Julie Stenner was get on a bus, aged 16: “It was really weird. I didn’t have anyone to talk to.” This extreme reliance on another human being is both the best and worst aspect of being an identical twin.

Something about the ‘telepathic’ bond between twins seems to transcend even scientific reason.

A database of 300,000 pairs of twins that would be by far the largest in the world is being planned by the British scientists to investigate the genetic and environmental origins of disease and behavior, The Times has learnt.

Britain’s oldest twins celebrate their 101st birthday today.