Lately, Telomeres, the structures that defend the tips of chromosomes, have been a burning area of scientific learning. A Nobel Prize was shared by three biologists for their telomere research in 2009.

An article showed that the regular reduction of these structures could be one rationale, as to why cells age and die. A new study by the Austrian researchers has now emerged claiming that people with shorter telomeres are more likely to grow cancers.

In 1995, telomere length in the leukocytes of 787 people was measured by the researchers. The scientists arranged the people into three sets on the basis of their blood cells' telomere length: longest, middle and shortest.

About 92 developed cancer, over the next 10 years. Hence the researchers concluded that the threat of cancer was two times high in the middle-length group in contrast with the longest-length set. It was three times elevated in the shortest-length group, in comparison with the longest-length group.

It made total sense, the researchers said that as the telomeres kept chromosomes steady and cancer was related to reshuffle of chromosomes. This could end up in some genes working more and others not at all, causing cells that shouldn't reproduce to start multiplying out of control.