Genetics & Epigenetics Library
Every article, presentation, spotlight, and news item we've tagged to Genetics & Epigenetics.
Showing 97–120 of 176
Reproductive life events and biological aging in women over 50: evidence from DNA methylation clocks
Reproductive life events—including age at menarche, menopause timing, and pregnancy history—correlate with biological aging rates in women over 50, as measured by DNA methylation clocks. These associations suggest that hormonal exposure patterns across the lifespan accumulate physiological debt that manifests as measurable differences in aging velocity.
Stem Cell Turnover Drives Epigenetic Aging Across Species
A unified mathematical model of stem cell dynamics explains how DNA methylation patterns change with age across mammalian species, positioning stem cell turnover as a primary mechanism driving epigenetic aging. This work integrates diverse aging signatures into a coherent biological framework, shifting focus from methylation patterns themselves to the underlying cellular processes that generate them.
sc-ChromAging: A Single-Cell Chromatin Accessibility-based Clock Decodes Cell-Type-Specific Epigenetic Aging Trajectories
Researchers developed sc-ChromAging, a single-cell epigenetic clock that measures aging at the cellular level by analyzing chromatin accessibility patterns specific to each cell type. This tool reveals that different cells age at different rates and through distinct molecular pathways, offering a method to detect and potentially intervene in age-related cellular dysfunction before systemic decline occurs.
Epigenetic clocks fail real-world reliability test
Epigenetic clocks measure biological age consistently in the laboratory but fluctuate significantly in response to daily physiological events, undermining their clinical utility. This technical-biological gap means most current clocks cannot reliably predict health outcomes or track intervention effects in real-world conditions.
Exercise and Biological Age: Association Outpaces Evidence
Physical activity correlates with lower biological age as measured by DNA methylation clocks (Horvath and GrimAge), but existing evidence is predominantly cross-sectional, preventing definitive causal claims. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish dose-response relationships and whether activity can meaningfully alter aging trajectories.
DNA Methylation Signatures of Cellular Senescence Are Not Reversed by Senolytic Treatment
Senolytic treatments did not reverse epigenetic signatures associated with cellular senescence, despite reducing senescent cell burden. This finding questions whether DNA methylation changes adequately capture senescence biology and whether current aging biomarkers respond as expected to geroscience interventions.
#386 – Aging clocks—what they measure, how they work, and their clinical and real-world relevance
Aging clocks are biomarkers that quantify biological age independent of chronological time, offering a measurable framework to evaluate whether interventions actually slow aging. Their clinical utility depends on validating what they measure, understanding their mechanisms, and establishing whether changes in these markers correlate with meaningful health outcomes.
‘We are not at consensus but we are at convergence’
The longevity field is moving from theoretical frameworks toward measurement-based clinical practice, with epigenetic clocks and multi-omics tools providing quantifiable biological age metrics that enable longitudinal tracking and personalized intervention. Precision assessment is becoming foundational to translating longevity research into actionable clinical protocols.
Klothea initiates longevity-focused human trial of klotho therapy
Klothea Bio has initiated a Phase 1b trial of AKL003, an mRNA therapy designed to elevate circulating alpha klotho protein levels in healthy adults. The trial represents a direct approach to testing whether increased klotho—a protein associated with organ protection and repair across multiple physiological systems—can favorably shift biomarkers linked to human lifespan and biological age.
Epigenetic Clocks of Biological Aging and Risk of Incident Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study
Accelerated biological aging measured by the epigenetic clock AgeAccelGrim2 was associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in 6,069 cognitively unimpaired women over 9.3 years of follow-up, independent of chronological age. This establishes epigenetic markers as measurable indicators of neurodegeneration risk.
Syndex Bio’s mcPCR opens new path for early disease detection
Syndex Bio's mcPCR technology preserves DNA methylation patterns during amplification, enabling detection of disease-associated epigenetic changes from minimal samples. This advance addresses a critical gap in early disease detection and biological age assessment, with implications spanning oncology, prenatal diagnostics, and longevity research.
FGF21 Gene Therapy Preserves Multi-Organ Function in Aged Mice
A single injection of AAV-delivered FGF21 gene therapy extended lifespan by over 20% in aged mice while preserving function across liver, kidneys, heart, skeletal muscle, and brain. The treatment improved metabolic health markers and activated adaptive programs that countered multiple aging mechanisms simultaneously, suggesting metabolic interventions may have broader relevance to systemic resilience.
AI, genomics and CRISPR signal a new phase of biological innovation
AI-driven pattern recognition combined with expanded genomic sequencing and CRISPR gene editing is accelerating drug discovery and precision medicine by generating large datasets for machine learning models. This convergence enables shorter development cycles and more targeted therapeutic interventions based on individual genetic profiles.
Multi-Omics Aging Clocks: Measuring Damage vs. Adaptation
Multi-omics aging clocks integrate epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolic, and microbial data to quantify biological age with greater accuracy than single-omics models, offering improved risk stratification for preventive medicine. The critical gap lies not in measurement precision but in distinguishing pathological damage from adaptive remodeling—a distinction that determines which interventions will meaningfully slow aging.
Klotho Cell Therapy Advances to Regulatory Testing
Klothonova has completed a GMP-grade master cell bank of cells engineered to overexpress α-Klotho protein, advancing toward regulatory approval for an encapsulated cell therapy targeting aging and age-related disease. α-Klotho restoration represents a direct intervention in fundamental aging mechanisms that affect kidney function, neurodegeneration, and vascular integrity.
Methionine Restriction Triggers Autophagy Through Epigenetic Control
Methionine restriction extends lifespan in yeast by reducing S-adenosylmethionine production, which prevents methylation of protein phosphatase 2A and triggers sustained autophagy. Early-stage methionine restriction appears sufficient to activate this longevity pathway, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for human healthspan extension without sustained dietary restriction.
Longitudinal changes in epigenetic clocks predict survival in the InCHIANTI cohort
Longitudinal acceleration in epigenetic clocks—independent of baseline epigenetic age—predicts mortality risk in the InCHIANTI cohort. The rate of change in multiple epigenetic clocks emerges as a more predictive mortality marker than epigenetic age alone, offering refined mortality risk stratification.
FGF21 Gene Therapy Extends Lifespan 20% in Aging Mice
Late-life delivery of FGF21 gene therapy via muscle targeting extended median lifespan in mice by 20.5% while improving metabolic health, mitochondrial function, and reducing age-related pathology across multiple organs. The intervention mimics metabolic benefits of exercise and caloric restriction without requiring sustained behavioral change.
scAgeClock: a single-cell transcriptome-based human aging clock model using gated multi-head attention neural networks
Researchers developed scAgeClock, a machine learning model that measures aging at the single-cell level by analyzing gene expression patterns. This cellular-resolution aging clock offers a novel method to detect age-related changes before systemic symptoms emerge, with potential applications in monitoring intervention efficacy and identifying individuals at accelerated aging risk.
Biologically Younger Individuals, as Identified by MARK‐AGE Biological Age Scores, Display a Distinct Favourable Blood Chemistry Profile Regardless of Age
Biological age, calculated from a 10-marker panel, correlates with HDL cholesterol, vitamin D, and immune function (CD4+ ratio) independently of chronological age. Subjects with lower biological age scores showed favorable values in these markers, suggesting they function as drivers of the aging process rather than mere correlates.
GARM expands gene therapy platform with Klotho
GARM Clinic has added Klotho to its non-permanent gene therapy platform alongside Follistatin and VEGF, positioning itself as a clinical destination for early-stage longevity interventions. Klotho addresses age-related decline in the protein's natural production, targeting mitochondrial function, metabolic resilience, and systemic health markers that degrade with age.
Lipid-Epigenetic Crosstalk Drives Cellular Aging
Lipid metabolism and epigenetic regulation form a bidirectional communication network that drives cellular aging and age-related disease. The crosstalk between these pathways offers mechanistic insight into how metabolic dysfunction accelerates senescence and suggests multiple intervention points for longevity strategies.
An Extracellular Matrix Aging Clock Based on Circulating Matrisome Proteins Predicts Biological Aging and Disease
Researchers developed a 14-protein aging clock from circulating extracellular matrix proteins that predicts biological age, distinguishes healthy from diseased states, and responds to rejuvenation interventions. This identifies ECM remodeling as a measurable biomarker and potential therapeutic target for age-related decline.
Klotho Longevity Therapy: Clinical Implementation and Biomarker Response
GARM Clinic conducted the inaugural Klotho Longevity Residency, administering a proprietary Klotho therapy via lipid nanoparticle platform to 22 participants and measuring individualized biomarker responses. The event represents a clinical implementation model that combines direct researcher-patient engagement with supervised biological intervention and biomarker tracking.