Epigenetic clock

An epi­ge­ne­tic clock is a mathe­ma­ti­cal model that esti­ma­tes bio­lo­gi­cal age from che­mi­cal marks on DNA. It main­ly mea­su­res DNA methy­la­ti­on, which helps con­trol which genes are swit­ched on or off wit­hout alte­ring the gene­tic code its­elf. The­se pat­terns chan­ge with age in a cha­rac­te­ristic way.

Appli­ca­ti­on

In rese­arch, epi­ge­ne­tic clocks are used to mea­su­re age­ing and to stu­dy the effects of life­style or tre­at­ments. In stu­dies, smo­king, excess weight and chro­nic stress are asso­cia­ted with a hig­her epi­ge­ne­tic age. Such tests are now also sold com­mer­ci­al­ly, usual­ly based on a blood or sali­va sample.

Good to know

The­re are seve­ral clocks built on dif­fe­rent data, and they do not always agree. Whe­ther a mea­su­red epi­ge­ne­tic age can be deli­bera­te­ly lowe­red, and whe­ther doing so actual­ly impro­ves health, has not yet been ade­qua­te­ly shown in humans. Skin-spe­ci­fic clocks are also still at the rese­arch stage, and their link to lon­ge­vi­ty remains lar­ge­ly a mat­ter of study.