We study the first passage time (FPT) problem in Levy type of anomalous diffusion. Using the recently formulated fractional Fokker-Planck equation, we obtain an analytic expression for the FPT distribution which, in the large passage time limit, is characterized by a universal power law. Contrasting this power law with the asymptotic FPT distribution from another type of anomalous diffusion exe...

Shortening of chromosome ends, known as telomeres, is one of the supposed mechanisms of cellular aging and death. We provide a probabilistic analysis of the process of loss of telomere ends. The first work concerned with that issue is the paper by Levy et al. [J. Molec. Biol. 225 (1992) 951-960]. Their deterministic model reproduced the observed frequencies of viable cells in the in vitro exper...