Analysis of telomeres, markers of ageing, shows that the process of deterioration occurs unevenly in different parts of the body. The ageing of organisms is due to the loss of function of some of the body's organs and involves cardiovascular diseases or the development of cancers. The next steps would include manipulating telomere length in different tissues and seeing if this implies changes in the function of different body parts.

Blood chemical reference values and variations in them in long-lived endangered birds are of metabolic, veterinary, ecological and/or taxonomic interest. In the present study, such reference values are provided and the influence of sex, age, and nest location are tested on up to 11 plasma values in nesting black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) sampled in 2015 on the Falkland Islands.

The evolution of lifespan is a central question in evolutionary biology, begging the question why there is so large variation among taxa. Specifically, a central quest is to unravel proximate causes of ageing. Here it is shown that the degree of unsaturation of liver fatty acids predicts maximum lifespan in 107 bird species.