There is a new kind of biological clock in town. And this one may prove useful in predicting where age-related diseases such as cancer are most likely to strike.
The proposed new body clock measures DNA methylation (DNAm) — the process by which genes are altered as the body’s cells differentiate and their genetic programmes change to meet new demands.
UCLA bioinformatician Steve Horvath’s research, published in the journal Genome Biology, makes clear that the answer to the question “How old is this person?” may change depending on which tissue is checked. For instance, the methylation of cells from the breasts of women with breast cancer revealed that tissue near the site of a tumour was, on average, 12 years older by DNAm standards than the rest of the body. UCLA has filed a provisional patent on Horvath’s DNAm bioticker.
