A new study led by University of Maryland and UCLA researchers found that DNA from tissue samples can be used to accurately predict the age of bats in the wild. The study also showed age-related changes to the DNA of long-lived species are different from those in short-lived species, especially in regions of the genome near genes associated with cancer and immunity. This work provides new insight into causes of age-related declines.

This is the first research paper to show that animals in the wild can be accurately aged using an epigenetic clock, which predicts age based on specific changes to DNA. This work provides a new tool for biologists studying animals in the wild. In addition, the results provide insight into possible mechanisms behind the exceptional longevity of many bat species. The study appears in the March 12, 2021, issue of the journal Nature Communications.

“We hoped that these epigenetic changes would be predictive of age,” said Gerald Wilkinson, a professor of biology at UMD and co-lead author of the paper. “But now we have the data to show that instead of having to follow animals over their lifetime to be sure of their age, you can just go out and take a tiny sample of an individual in the wild and be able to know its age, which allows us to ask all kinds of questions we couldn’t before.”

In a minute and 27 seconds we get the what from an eye regeneration for mice, to monkey trials to start later this year, to human trials by 2023, and full body in a decade.

David Sinclair—a world-leading biologist, Harvard Medical School Professor, and author of The New York Times best-selling book @Lifespan.

🧬 His work on understanding why we age and how to slow down the aging process has contributed significantly to getting the longevity science to where it is today. David’s numerous discoveries have been published in the most respected scientific journals. He co-founded many biotech companies, including Life Biosciences, MetroBiotech, and InsideTracker.

🧬 David has received more than 25 awards and honors for his research. He was included in TIME Magazine’s list of the “100 most influential people in the world” in 2014 and “50 Most Influential People in Health Care” in 2018.

🧬 David and his colleagues have recently published a Nature paper with extraordinary results of their epigenetic reprogramming therapy that has successfully restored vision in mice. The paper has become the most accessed paper in the past 12 months at the journal.

What Are Telomeres?

As our cells divide (a process known as mitosis), our cells replicate the long strands of DNA located within the nucleus of our cells (known as chromosomes). This process however is imperfect, and due to the mechanics of how this is carried out by the body, the DNA is shorted ever so slightly during each replication cycle. I will not get into the details on how exactly this happens in this article, but if you are interested then this video should give you a better understanding of this process. In order to prevent important parts of the DNA being lost through the replication process, areas of what is mostly blank DNA at the end of the chromosomes are used as a sort of sacrificial buffer, allowing for the DNA to be replicated without the loss of genetic information. These areas of the chromosomes are known as telomeres. In addition to providing a buffer zone for DNA replication, telomeres also prevent broken strands of DNA attaching themselves to the ends of chromosomes, which both prevents chromosomes from becoming conjoined, as well as allowing for the opportunity for the broken strand of DNA to be repaired.

Do longer telomeres correspond to longer lifespans?

Calico has made some important discoveries about Yamanaka factors.

In a preprint paper, scientists from Calico, Google’s longevity research behemoth, suggest that contrary to our previous understanding, transient reprogramming of cells using Yamanaka factors involves suppressing cellular identity, which may open the door to carcinogenic mutations. They also propose a milder reprogramming method inspired by limb regeneration in amphibians [1].

Rejuvenation that can give you cancer

In 2006, a group of scientists led by Shinya Yamanaka developed a technique for reprogramming somatic cells back into pluripotent stem cells by transfusing them with a cocktail of transcription factors [2]. These four pluripotency-associated genes, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM), became known as the Yamanaka factors. This breakthrough made it possible to produce patient-specific stem cells from their own somatic cells.