We are a ways away from a fitting Hallmark greeting card but here’s another reason to thank mom- your telomere length
Here is a study showing maternal telomere length is more important than paternal in birds
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25621325
Think of how long we could live if mom had been able to keep you from losing a third of your telomere length in utero. That would be an excellent experiment for an animal model that would test safety with respect to teratogeneisis (or birth defects) as well as the basic premise of whether being born with longer telomeres will confer a longer healthspan.
I hope someday I can help facilitate studies like that through my aspirations of establishing ProBonoTrials.org
——-postscript——
Since my own 77-yo mom gave me such good telomeres, I am looking to return the favor. She has been taking TA-65 or RECHARGE intermittently since 2008 and still works full-time managing a motel by the Grand Canyon. Thanks, mom!