Read More at Fight Aging! This popular science article on the development and present use of epigenetic clocks mentions the view that the clocks will point the way to a better understanding of the causes of aging. I’m dubious that use of the clocks represents a better way forward to that goal than the approach of implementing the various rejuvenation therapies outlined in the SENS proposals. A potential rejuvenation therapy that affects just one potential root cause of aging in isolation will tell us a lot about the importance and validity of that cause; researchers are learning a great deal from the ability to selectively destroy senescent cells, for example. Even good correlations between epigenetic states and aging will, unfortunately, take a long time to pick apart into knowledge of which mechanisms influence those epigenetic states, and to what degree.…
Connections Between Epigenetic Aging and Nuclear DNA Damage
Read More at Fight Aging! Today’s open access paper reviews what is known of the connections between epigenetic aging and the nuclear DNA damage that occurs across a lifetime, and particularly in later life. Some of this DNA damage is more evidently connected with the epigenetic regulation that determines the packaging and structure of nuclear DNA, such as the activity of transposable elements, restrained in youth, but unleashed to copy themselves in later life, damaging genes as they do so. It is important to note that the relationship of cause and consequence between nuclear DNA damage and epigenetic change is likely a two-way street, particularly given the comparatively recent discovery that repeated double strand break repair causes epigenetic alterations characteristic of aging. While nuclear DNA damage raises the risk of cancer, such as via damage to cancer suppression genes, it…
Epigenetic Aging Slows During Hiberation in a Common Bat Species
Read More at Fight Aging! This open access paper on epigenetic age and hibernation in bats makes an interesting companion piece to similar research into marmots from earlier in the year. It seems that hibernation may slow epigenetic aging in a range of species, though it may not be enough to explain differences in life span between all similar hibernating and non-hibernating species. Nonetheless, researchers have for some years shown interest in the biochemistry of hibernation in the context of aging. It remains to be seen what there is to learn here, and whether it can form the basis for therapies or enhancements in human medicine. Comparative analyses of bats indicate that hibernation is associated with increased longevity among species. However, it is not yet known if hibernation affects biological ageing of individuals. Here, we use DNA methylation (DNAm) as…