Studio portrait of Max Gruenspecht and Regina Gruenspecht nee Epstein Portraits Couples

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Portrait of brother, mother and sister of Max Rieser seated outdoors; Franzensbad Portraits Family

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Parents of Max Rieser standing on a terrace Portraits Couples

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Writer Clara Michelson (second from left) seated at an outdoor table with three unidentified women and one unidentified man; Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, France Portraits Groups

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William Niclas standing next to the Oder River Portraits Men

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William Niclas (far left) next to Herr Richards and an unidentified man and woman; Ratibor, Poland Portraits Men

Handwritten on verso: Mormons, Ratibor

Portrait of Walter Rathenau Portraits Men

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Class picture of Gisela Kleinermann Portraits Group

The photograph shows Gisela Kleinermann (standing at the right end of the line) with her class at the ‘Juedische Schule’ in Dresden, late summer of 1938, as she and her mother were preparing for her immigration to the USA. Most other children were deported in October 1938 and perished in the Holocaust. The teacher, Jacob Blum (center back) emigrated to Palestine.

Portrait of Arthur Segal Portraits Men

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Portrait of Nikolaus Braun 1920 Portraits Men

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Portrait of Nikolaus Braun 1932 Portraits Men

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Andy Duncan-Brown Portraits Boys

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Meta-analysis of telomere length in 19 713 subjects reveals high heritability, stronger maternal inheritance and a paternal age effect

Telomere length (TL) has been associated with aging and mortality, but individual differences are also influenced by genetic factors, with previous studies reporting heritability estimates ranging from 34 to 82%. Here we investigate the heritability, mode of inheritance and the influence of parental age at birth on TL in six large, independent cohort studies with a total of 19 713 participants. The meta-analysis estimate of TL heritability was 0.70 (95% CI 0.64–0.76) and is based on a pattern of results that is highly similar for twins and other family members. We observed a stronger mother–offspring (r=0.42; P-value=3.60 × 10−61) than father–offspring correlation (r=0.33; P-value=7.01 × 10−5), and a significant positive association with paternal age at offspring birth (β=0.005; P-value=7.01 × 10−5). Interestingly, a significant and quite substantial correlation in TL between spouses (r=0.25; P-value=2.82 × 10−30) was seen, which appeared stronger in older spouse pairs (mean age ≥55 years; r=0.31; P-value=4.27 × 10−23) than in younger pairs (mean age<55 years; r=0.20; P-value=3.24 × 10−10). In summary, we find a high and very consistent heritability estimate for TL, evidence for a maternal inheritance component and a positive association with paternal age.