Even worse, some cells give up completely and turn into senescent “zombie cells”-they don’t die, but don’t perform normal functions, instead spewing out toxic immune chemicals. Cells can no longer sense nutrients floating around. The cell’s energy factory, the mitochondria, sputters and malfunctions. Proteins start behaving wonkily, sometimes forming into clumps that clog up the cell’s waste disposal system, potentially leading to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. Telomeres, the protective cap on the genes, waste away. Zooming in on our genes, the genome becomes more unstable-meaning that there’s more chances for mutations. Let me introduce you to the wheel of aging. How and why do what are essentially “fridge magnets” for the genome change anything? If you’re having trouble linking epigenetic modifications to aging, I feel ya. Yet one glaring question remained: what exactly is the EpiAge clock measuring? The Hallmarks of Aging “Epidemiological studies have linked EpiAge acceleration to a wide variety of pathologies, health states, lifestyle, mental state, and environmental factors, indicating that epigenetic clocks tap into critical biological processes that are involved in aging.” “The discrepancy between epigenetic age as estimated by these clocks, and chronological age is referred to as EpiAge acceleration,” the authors said. The test was “amazingly good,” said Kevin Bryant at Zymo Research, a biotechnology company in Irvine, California at the time.ĮpiAge also began looking under the veil. With more work, Horvath found even more patterns that reflected the age of certain types of cells, such as neurons and blood cells. Even more impressive, the clock used a simple statistical model, which looked at a certain type of epigenetic modification-DNA methylation-at just two target sites on DNA. The clock’s median error was a measly 3.6 years, meaning that it could gauge a person’s age within 43 months. It was a very risky project,” Horvath said at the time. “I wanted to develop a method that would work in many or most tissues. Rather than a one-off, EpiAge seems to work for multiple organs and tissues, potentially shining light on how aging happens. His team developed an algorithm for biological age-a cellular biological clock-that impressed longevity researchers with its accuracy throughout the body. The key was a type of epigenetic modification called methylation, which tends to rest on DNA spots dubbed CpG islands. After gathering and analyzing over 13,000 human samples, Horvath found an impressive measuring tape for aging. This led Horvath to ask: can we use these epigenetic markers to gauge a cell’s age?Īpparently, the answer is yes. The epigenetic dance changes with age, though some changes seem consistent across time. Epigenetics is an extremely fluid dance, with multiple chemical components latching onto or falling off of DNA strands. Horvath’s idea stemmed from epigenetics-a powerful way our bodies control DNA expression without altering the DNA strands themselves.
Biological age vs chronological age test how to#
A biomathematician, he set his eyes on using computation modeling and AI to “ understand how to extend life.”īut to find the key, he needed a focus. Steve Horvath had his eye on extending lifespan ever since he was a teenager. But what, if anything, does the clock mean for longevity? Meet the Clockmakerĭr. In other words, our cells have an epigenetic age (EpiAge). But with age, certain bits of the genome add far more chunks, which essentially work to shut the genes off. These markers, dubbed epigenetic modifications, normally just tack on and off like Velcro. As we age, our genomes add on chunks of chemicals that alter their gene expression. One of the most popular aging clocks dives deep into our cells. As they look into what makes us age, one main metric pops up: a biological aging clock-a measure that reflects your body’s age irrespective of your years on Earth. Why? Studies have repeatedly shown that cells, tissues, and people have a “biological age” that may or may not correspond to how old they are in terms of birthdays. They’re highly active with astonishing energy.
They seem sharper than their age would suggest. Yet we all know people who seem much younger than their chronological age.
0 kommentar(er)
