‘Death test’ can tell if you’ll die within five years

With just a little bit of blood, scientists can look at ‘biomarkers’ that help them predict if a perfectly healthy person will get sick and die.

If your biomarkers, or blood molecules, aren’t quite right, you’re apparently five times more likely to die in the next five years. Simply put, there are tell-tale signs in our blood that tell them if something is likely to go wrong.

Thousands of people took part in a study by simply giving blood and then were kept track of over a five year period. Several hundred people ended up dying of various things like cancer and heart disease. All of those people had identical traits in their blood.

The findings could be great news for the future of the health industry. A simple blood test might be able to throw up a red flag to someone who would otherwise be unsuspecting of any health risks.