Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics at UCLA, has developed a statistical model that can calculate the age of human tissue, according to Forbes. His research was published Monday amid much speculation and excitement.
At the basis of Horvarth's model is methylation, or the process by which DNA changes over times, Forbes reported. He and colleagues studied the process in a variety of different cells and tissues. Eventually, they would find a pattern and transcribe it into the "first-ever accurate age predictor that works across most tissues and cell types," Horvath said.
"Right now, as a human, all you have is your birth certificate to tell you how old you are," said Daryl Shibata, M.D, at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
If Horvarth's model holds up, we'll know the biological age of anybody at any time. No more Danny Almontes.
Determining the age of tissue holds other implications as well. As scientists better understand how the mechanisms of aging works, they'll be more equipped to manipulate it.
"In the same way our circadian clocks keep track of hours, this new epigenetic clock keeps track of years," Horvath said. "Can it be used as an anti-aging tool? That's an exciting question we need to answer."
"If you had a marker of aging that was reliable, you could use it to study aging itself and anti-aging interventions much more effectively," Shibata said.
The model is still far from immortality, according to Shibata, who has studied Horvarth's model in depth.
"The general idea that you can read a genome and it reflects the aging process is probably correct," he said. "But the weakness is that this study doesn't provide a mechanism, and without a mechanism it's just a correlation."
