Hi readers!
Getting older highlights aging: a privilege and a new stage of life. It is just a matter of perspective. Those who focuses on continued learning, and taking up experiences (I am the humble example) age is just a number and “Wrinkles” an indication of where smiles have been.
Both reflects wisdom, joy, and the choice to stay young at heart despite the years. Some people consider aging: a state of mind, and for others, it is simply how the mind (Thinking) and body (Biology) naturally change over time.
By this token, aging can be of three types: psychological, social and physiological: the former two relates with thinking and the later with biology. When both categories are visible, people will be considered aging gracefully and if hidden than it is the longevity (the long duration of individual life attributes which are directly related with exercise and heathy diet).
Aging clocks (biological markers and computational models) estimates an individual’s biological age imitating physiological health and aging rate more accurately compared to chronological age because it measures cumulative molecular changes (DNA methylation, proteins, metabolites and mortality) through predicting health risks, and diseases. The difference between biological and chronological age: “age gap” indicates faster (acceleration) or slower aging with acceleration linked to higher disease risk, suggesting interventions and personalize healthcare.
The ageing clocks work through:
- Biomarker Analyses or analyses of the patterns in DNA methylation, proteins, metabolites, or even facial images (Photo Age Clock),
- Machine Learning: Algorithms trained on large datasets correlate these patterns with chronological age and
- Biological Age calculation: the model that predicts an age based on your molecular profile and not just the years lived.
Biological clocks generally are of three types:
- Epigenetic Clocks which tracks DNA Methylation changes,
- Transcriptomic/Proteomic/Metabolomic Clocks that are based on gene expression, protein levels, or metabolic profiles, and
- Wearable-Based Clocks that use data from wearables, like pulse wave morphology (PPG), and now the fourth one is also being used as
- AI Clocks that uses deep learning on images (Photo Age Clock) or clinical records.
Biological clock reveals:
- Health & Disease: An accelerated biological age suggesting increased risk for age-related diseases and mortality.
- Intervention Effectiveness: which means if changes in lifestyle (diet, exercise) or new drugs can slow aging? and
- Stochastic Variation: which suggests that clocks can reflect accumulated random molecular damage, not just a programmed process.
Stochastic refers to a process characterized by the presence of random variables, which represents systems or phenomena that change randomly over time.
In simple words, aging clocks offer a powerful tool to understand individual aging trajectories (path of life through space and time that it traces as it proceeds), moving beyond simple age to assess true physiological wear and tear thereby, guiding personalized medicine for healthier aging.
Biological age is fixed age by calendar years and reflects body’s actual health and cellular functions as they influenced by lifestyle, genetics, and environment.
Difference between biological and chronological age is that biological age can be younger, older, or the same as the chronological age, indicating body’s rate of aging, with a younger biological age signaling better health.
Biological age is assessed through biomarkers (like DNA methylation, telomere length) and is more accurate health predictor than chronological age, which is just a number.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming longevity (long duration of individual life) and aging (growing old or older, especially in a way that is visible and obvious.
Research is currently moving from theoretical models to practical applications designed to extend human health span (the period of life spent in good health which can slow or hide aging process) through analyzing enormous and complex datasets comprising genomics, proteomics, and imaging.
Artificial Intelligence is identifying new therapeutic targets, developing advanced “aging clocks” and accelerating drug discovery to combat age-related diseases to rejuvenate the entire body compressing timelines from year to months.
Dear readers! you must have watched the completely rejuvenated personalities roaming around in high profile weddings. Seeing is believing. So, don’t worry about aging as you can hide it depending upon your affordability.
Sophia Loren suggested that the fountain of youth is found in one’s mind, talents, and creativity. “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old are you”? See you again. Take care, Bye.
