Key points from article :
The nucleolus is a major structure in a cell's nucleus responsilbe for ribosome biogenesis.
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing has discovered a link between its size and life expectancy.
Biomarker found in study of long-lived roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans mutants.
Mutants showed smaller nucleoli than their shorter-lived relatives.
Size link was independent of the pathway that led to their longevity.
Molecules within the nucleolus could causally impact life expectancy.
Effect also seen in human muscle biopsies.
The study was published in the Nature Communications journal.
