The Grim Reaper factor

Novel genetic test shows: this is how old I really am

(Bild: Viacheslav Yakobchuk)

The biological clock - and not the birth certificate - shows our true age. While medicine is making quantum leaps in life expectancy research, we put it to the test with a simple saliva test and the latest DNA technology. The result is surprising.

The sun-drenched practice room in the Wilhelminian-style building in Vienna's Prinz-Eugen-Straße, directly opposite Belvedere Palace, appears to be infinitely high. The treatment table covered in white crepe paper on which I am to stretch out feels all the narrower. It smells of disinfectant, like a hospital. I'm a little scared.

Not because this test might reveal how many years I have left. As a syringe-phobe from the very beginning, I die a thousand deaths every time my blood is drawn.

Of course, the fear is unfounded. When Professor Johannes Huber (77) reaches for the needle in person and with a steady hand, the veins can be hidden no matter how much. The saliva sample is then given to his charming colleague in no time at all.

Prof. DDr. Johannes Huber explains to "Krone" reporter Gregor Brandl about the test to determine his biological age.(Bild: Klemens Groh)

How old am I really? How old do others think I am? And above all: how long will I live? Questions upon questions that we have been asking ourselves since time immemorial - and to which there are now increasingly precise answers!