Detecting biological clock predicting human life expectancy

A recently published study from a number of scientists in the UK, the US and Australia showed that a type of biological clock has been identified that can help predict human lifespan.

According to researchers from University of Edinburgh (UK) in collaboration with a number of other researchers in the US and Australia, they have observed the chemical changes impacted on DNA, thereby creating get a biological age for each individual compared to the actual age.

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Researchers found that people with a biological age greater than their actual age were more likely to die earlier than those with a similarly balanced biological age and actual age.

Known to arrive at the conclusion, scientists have begun to follow the lives of nearly 5,000 elderly people for more than 14 years. In particular, the biological age of each person will be measured by a blood sample at an early stage and participants will be monitored during the study.

During the study, the researchers found that there was a clear link between a biological clock and someone's lifespan (the study looked at factors such as smoking and diabetes. and cardiovascular disease).

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The principal investigator of the study, Lan Deary, is from the university. Edinburgh said: "This new study will increase our understanding of how long life and the direction of aging are considered healthy. It is also very happy that this study is still discoverable. a novel guide to the aging process, thereby improving life expectancy beyond contributing factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease ".

By studying the chemical changes that affect DNA, or DNA methylation , the researchers claim this is an important method to help them measure the biological age of each person . These changes not only do not alter the DNA sequence, but also play an important role in the biological process as well as may affect gene activity.

Changes in metylation can affect many genes and they often occur throughout a person's life.