Today, the metrology of aging is a growing science with increasingly reliable biomarkers. The epigenetic clock has been reported to be the most promising biomarker for estimating biological age[2]. In the fight against aging, studying biological age differences between individuals of the same chronological age could help to understand the influence of internal and environmental stressors on aging[1]. Developing this powerful marker will help to understand, slow down, stop or reverse aging[1].

Epigenetic clock – how does it work?

The epigenetic clock is based on changes in the DNA methylation profile. There are 28 million CpG dinucleotides in the human genome[3], several million of which have an altered methylation profile with age. Several sets of tens or even hundreds of these CpG sites have been built and studied to create a biological age estimator: the epigenetic clock.